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Survey to Determine What Visitors Know About Chikungunya

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While most Virgin Islands residents know a lot about chikungunya, the V.I. National Park in conjunction with the Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control want to learn more about what visitors to the park and St. John know about it. The information will help the park improve its dissemination of chikungunya information to visitors. To get the answer, park, Health and CDC staff will conduct a survey on St. John. The survey begins next week.

“Our hope is people will participate,” the National Park Service’s Albuquerque-based epidemiologist, Dr. David Wong, said Friday.

The two-page, five-minute survey will ask people if they know about the disease, how they got their information and what they’re doing while on St. John to prevent getting bitten by Aedes aegypti mosquitos that carry the disease, Wong said.

According to Wong, it will also ask basic demographic questions including age and gender, where they’re from, their primary spoken language, how many times they’ve visited St. John, and how they arrived on St. John.

“Plane, private boat, cruise ship…,” Wong said, adding that this information will help the park target where to disseminate information.

He said staff doing the survey will ask questions of a vast range of visitors at locations in the park and around St. John. They include the Visitor Center and Cinnamon Bay campground as well as on some of the popular beaches.

“We’re trying to be proactive in educating visitors. Are there ways to target and tailor the message?” Wong said.

Wong said it’s difficult to track chikungunya cases that occur on the mainland because if park visitors get sick when they return home, doctors in their area may know nothing about the disease.

According to the Health Department’s website, St. John had 10 confirmed and 38 suspected/probable cases of chikungunya in 2014. St. Thomas had 228 confirmed/probable and 753 suspected cases of the disease. St. Croix had 38 confirmed/probable and 530 suspected cases.

The St. Croix outbreak spiked later than the one on St. Thomas and St. John, but the Health Department website graph shows that cases are declining.

“Even though the outbreak is largely over, we know it will be cyclical in nature. They’ll be another outbreak,” Health Department epidemiologist Dr. Esther Ellis said.

While many Virgin Islands residents got Chikungunya and now have immunity, Ellis said the transient residential population coupled with the ever-changing array of visitors means there are always people with no immunity.

The first chikungunya case in the territory was reported in May 2014. Ellis used weekly numbers to indicate spikes, which correlate to early August through mid-September for the spike in cases on St. Thomas. The St. Thomas peak was in early September. St. John numbers are similar to St. Thomas.

On St. Croix, the spike came in early November to mid-December. Ellis said the peak was much less distinct than on St. Thomas.

Ellis said the results should be available shortly after the survey is finished.

The park’s press release indicates the chikungunya virus is also found in parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, Southern Europe, and islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Anyone traveling to a region of the world where chikungunya is found is at risk for the disease.

The most common symptoms of chikungunya are fever and severe joint pain, often in the hands and feet. Other symptoms may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling or rash. Most patients will feel better within a week, though some people develop joint pain that can last for weeks to months.

There is no vaccine to prevent it or medicine to treat chikungunya. The best way to protect yourself from chikungunya is to avoid mosquito bites. If you become sick with symptoms of chikungunya, see a doctor and tell him/her about your recent travel.

Health also sent out a press release Friday about the survey, and reminded people that according to the law, all confirmed or suspected chikungunya cases must be reported to the department. Forms should be submitted via confidential fax at 718-1508. Copies of the form, which have been distributed to health care providers, can be found at www.healthvi.org/forms/USVI%20Chik%20Reporting%20Form%20v07.16.14.pdf .

To learn more about chikungunya virus, visit www.cdc.gov/chikungunya.

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