Krasnoyarsk doctors tell us whether we should be afraid of the Chikungunya and Nipah epidemics

On the eve of the holiday season, epidemiologists at the Krasnoyarsk Regional Clinical Hospital Anna Demidova and Valeria Zibirova explained how real the threat of an epidemic of exotic infections is.

Since the beginning of the year, federal media have reported cases of Russians importing various diseases from abroad, including chikungunya (an outbreak registered in China) and Nipah (India). However, experts reassure: the risk of epidemics in Russia is minimal.

Chikungunya is transmitted only through the bites of mosquitoes that live in Africa and Asia. In our climate, vectors cannot survive, so only isolated imported cases are recorded. Symptoms include high fever, severe joint pain and rash. Mortality is low – about 0.1%, severe complications are possible only in the elderly and people with chronic diseases.

The Nipah virus is truly dangerous: the lethality of different strains reaches 40-75%. But the carriers are fruit bats, which live exclusively in the tropics. The likelihood of infection occurring in Russia is extremely low.

For those planning a vacation in Asia or Africa, epidemiologists advise following simple safety rules: wash your hands, pour boiling water over fruits and vegetables, drink only bottled water, and avoid ice in drinks. The main enemy in the tropics is mosquitoes, so it is important to wear covered clothing, use repellents and mosquito nets. You should also avoid getting water from pools and ponds into your mouth.

The regional hospital has developed an operational action plan in case of detection of particularly dangerous infections. Experts are ready to localize outbreaks, but, according to them, there is no need to panic – the climate and the absence of vectors reliably protect the region from epidemics of exotic viruses.

Main photo: freepik.com

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