2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

332971
Chikungunya Incidence in the Americas: Correlation between local media reports and cases reported to PAHO


Tuesday, November 3, 2015 : 10:48 a.m. - 11:06 a.m.

Cindy Bitter, MD, MAm MPH, School of Medicine/ Division of Emergency Medicine, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO
Janet Lin, MD, MPH, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine, Chicago, IL
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Chikungunya virus (ChikV) is a vector borne disease with low mortality but high morbidity and potential for debilitating chronic arthritis. ChikV emerged in the Americas in December 2013 and spread rapidly throughout the hemisphere, with nearly a million cases reported to the Pan American Health Organization within a year. Despite the large number of cases reported, it is believed this is a gross underestimate of the true burden of disease. Treatment is largely symptomatic, and many persons with ChikV will not see a physician. Confirmatory laboratory testing is costly and frequently not pursued.

Country cases reported to PAHO lag compared to reports in local media. At a time when Jamaican schools and businesses were reporting 20% absenteeism, only 31 confirmed and 352 suspected had been reported to PAHO, for an incidence rate of 13/100,000. As of November 2014, local media reported 8,000 cases with 1,000 new cases weekly in Curacao but as of Feb 6 2015, PAHO data has only been updated through October 2014. 

Self-management of cases and inadequate surveillance likely account for the gaps in offically reported cases, but many citizens argue that governments are intentionally underreporting to excuse inaction or protect tourism interests. Underreporting of disease burden undermines public trust in government response to the epidemic.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
Compare local media reports of disease burden with official statistics as reported to the Pan American Health Organization Discuss implications of variances in reported incidences

Keyword(s): Epidemiology

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a physician with training in Travel Medicine and experience practicing in the Caribbean & Central America. Emerging diseases and travel-related infections are among my research interests
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4124.0: Disease Outbreaks - Prevention and Response