First confirmed case of chikungunya fever reported in Spain

The European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) on Tuesday confirmed the first case of chikungunya fever contracted by the bite of a mosquito in Spain.

The first case is that of a 60-year-old man resident in the town of Gandia, close to Valencia on the east coast of Spain. Until now all cases of the disease, which can only be transmitted by the bite of a mosquito, had been in people infected by the virus while traveling outside the country.

The chikungunya virus has a very low mortality rate of about 1 death per 1,000 cases with those already sick most at risk. But it is especially unpleasant given that it has no specific treatment.

Symptoms include headaches and fever which last for between two and seven days, accompanied by joint pains which can last for weeks or even months, causing the patient to feel weak and require long period of rest.

The ECDC on Monday confirmed the Tiger Mosquito (aedes albopictus), which has been present in the Valencia region since 2013, was almost certainly the agent for transmitting the disease in Spain.

The ECDC said on its website this species of mosquito, which produces an especially painful bite, is "widely found along the Mediterranean coast, as well as in the Balearic Islands." Endit