MASS ANIMAL DIE-OFF: Mysterious Mass Death Of Monkeys In Central America - 40 Howlers Dead In Recent Months, With Relatively Full Stomachs And No Signs Of Trauma; Scientists Are Baffled; Could This Be Related To Zika Or Other Mosquito-Borne Diseases?!

A dead howler monkey found in the woods in southern Nicaragua.© Paso Pacifico

February 12, 2016 - CENTRAL AMERICA - Scientists are investigating the mysterious die-off of dozens of monkeys in Central America, including the possibility that they have contracted Zika or another virus that could be passed to humans.

In recent months, around 40 howler monkeys have been found dead or dying in the tropical rainforests of Nicaragua. The animals have all had relatively full stomachs and no obvious signs of trauma. Experts fear there may be many more cases that have not been reported.

"Wild animals die off all the time, but it is really unusual to see this many deaths in such a short time with no apparent reason," said Kim Williams-Guillen, a conservation Ph.D. who has been researching in Nicaragua's jungles since 1999. "I have never seen anything like it."

"These deaths are worth investigating, not just from a conservation standpoint, but from a public health standpoint. It is very important we get to the bottom of this."


WATCH: Nicaragua Howler Monkey Die-off Signals New Viral Outbreak?

Primates are highly susceptible to mosquito-borne diseases, and outbreaks among them could be a precursor to the spread of disease among humans, although scientists are careful to warn that this leap remains rare.

Complicating the mystery is the fact that howler monkeys are immune to dengue but are highly vulnerable to yellow fever. Yet Nicaragua has been declared free of that disease for years.

What is less clear is how the primates will respond to Zika and chikungunya, both of which are related to yellow fever and have just arrived in the Western Hemisphere in the last couple of years.

Nicaragua has reported 29 cases of Zika so far. Meanwhile, chikungunya has infected more than 100,000 people across Central America since first arriving there in 2014.

Among the numerous unknowns is whether howler monkeys would even exhibit symptoms if they became infected with either virus.

"It is just not something that has been researched yet, how or whether they would affect primates," adds Williams-Guillen, who is conservation director at Paso Pacifico, an environmental nonprofit working in Central America's Pacific jungles.

The group is now coordinating with scientists from the University of California, Davis, to come up with a definitive diagnosis for whatever it is that is killing off the monkeys.

In addition to the possibility of a virus, the researchers will also probe other factors that might be at work, including drought and other environmental variables.

The first challenge is to take hair, skin and other samples from a recently deceased animal and then transport it to Davis.

Red Howler Monkey babies are seen at the Hacienda Miraderos forests in the Municipality of Armenia, Antioquia, Colombia, December 14, 2015.© Fredy Builes/Reuters

Liliana Cortez Ortiz, a University of Michigan researcher and member of the International Primate Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, said this kind of unexplained die-off of apparently healthy animals is unusual, but not unprecedented.

"Any instances in which primates are dying from unknown causes is potentially a concern for humans as well," she added. "We simply don't know why this is happening and we need to find out."

Despite their cute appearance and size, typically weighing around 17 to 20 pounds, howler monkeys are actually the loudest land animals on the planet.

That's because they have large, hard, hollow throats, which they use to project roars that can travel for miles across the jungle. To the untrained ear, they sound more like a big cat than a fluffy monkey.

But now that they are apparently suffering from a mystery disease, they also face a new threat, warns Cortez Ortiz: humans.

"Now that we know they are dying, it is possible that local people may become scared and take matters into their own hands, killing the monkeys deliberately out of fear," she said.

"It is very important that they message gets out in Nicaragua that that is not the way to handle this, and these monkeys are not a danger to humans." - PRI.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: "The Population Is Defenseless" - 80,000 Cases Of Chikungunya Reported In Colombia!

January 15, 2015 - COLOMBIA - Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria denied today that the Chikungunya epidemics was out of control and said its expansion was below expected, despite the more than 80,000 cases of infection registered.

In remarks to El Nuevo Siglo newspaper, Gaviria warned of a likely increase in the number of people infected during the recebtly started dry season.

The dry season, characterized by absence of rain and lower river levels, make people storage water, a situation that may increase breeding grounds for mosquitos Aedes aegypti and Aedes Albopictus, which carry the illness, warned the expert.

According to Gaviria, these mosquitos are present in nearly 1,000 municipalities countrywide.

The population is defenseless; this is an emerging phenomenon in the Latin American continent and there is no vaccine available so far; therefore, it is impossible to avoid the introduction and later expansion of the virus, said the official as quoted by the newspaper.

He said all localities below 2,100 mt above the sea risk a spread of the illness because of the proliferation of these insects.

He denied any shortfall in medicines and said the problem is rather organizational.

Garicia warned the people against self-medication, though.

President Juan Manuel Santos said recently that some 5,000 doctors and nurses were being trained to face the epidemics in hospitals and other medical centers, which would be reinforced by military medical services (from the Army and Police).

The Caribbean departments and Norte de Santander are the worst-hit by the Chikungunya epidemics in Colombia.

The symptoms of this illness are similar to those of the dengue fever. - Prensa Latina.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Mysterious And Incurable Chikungunya Virus Continues To Spread - Now Confirmed In 15 American States, Including New York, With 25 In Florida Alone!

June 16, 2014 - UNITED STATES -  First there was West Nile virus. Now health experts are warning about another virus carried by mosquitoes.

CDC: Cases Confirmed In 15 States, Including N.Y., With 25 In Florida Alone

The chikungunya virus — or “chik-v” — has sickened tens of thousands of people throughout the Caribbean with high fever and severe pain. Now Americans are coming down with it, too, and there’s fear that it will spread, CBS 2′s Kristine Johnson reported.

“This is not a fatal infection; it’s just a miserable infection,” said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of Vanderbilt University’s Department of Preventive Medicine.

Cases of the mosquito-borne virus have been confirmed in 15 states, including New York. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25 cases have been reported in Florida alone.

“The chikungunya fever will last for three, four, five days,” Schaffner said. “You’re miserable. Then you’ll get better. We can treat you symptomatically.”

So far, all of the infected Americans have contracted the virus in parts of the world where it is common. But researchers are worried that mosquitoes in the U.S. could pick up the disease by biting infected people.


WATCH: Health Experts Warn Of New Virus Carried By Mosquitoes.

“There’s a concern that people from the United States who go to the Caribbean might be bitten by infected mosquitoes and then bring this illness, this virus, back to the United States,” Schaffner siad. “We have the kind of mosquito that will transmit this virus here in the U.S.”

Prior outbreaks have occurred in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Late last year, the virus was found for the first time on the Caribbean islands, where more than 100,000 people have been sickened.

“So far, we have no evidence that there are U.S.-bred mosquitoes that have become infected,” Schaffner said.

There is no vaccine to prevent the virus, which is rarely fatal. - CBS. 

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Incurable Chikungunya Virus Spreads In The United States - At Least 6 States Affected!

June 16, 2014 - UNITED STATES - US health officials are on high alert as a mosquito-borne virus that yet has no cure has struck six of the US states. The virus called chikungunya causes severe joint pain which can last for years.

Reuters / Philippe Wojazer

The latest case of the virus has been confirmed by Tennessee officials as the resident of Madison County, has been tested positive for the virus. The officials, however, added that there was no transmission to other residents in the state.

"It will be more difficult for the virus to establish itself here," Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee told Tech Times.

Rhode Island authorities also confirmed two cases of the mosquito-borne virus. They involve travelers who returned from the Dominican Republic on May 17 and May 29, said state officials, adding that authorities are currently investigating several other suspicious cases of the virus.

Florida has been the worst hit by the virus, with at least 25 cases reported in the state, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Florida Department of Health released a set of guidelines in order to avoid becoming infected and spreading the virus.

A scientist examines tiger mosquitos (AFP Photo / Pascal Guyot)

The cases of the virus, transmitted to humans through mosquitoes, have also been confirmed in North Carolina, Nebraska and Indiana.

On Wednesday, the virus affected two residents from the US Virgin Islands, according to local authorities.

“The first case has been confirmed as locally acquired; the second case is an imported case with the patient recent travel history outside of the Territory,” said the Department of Health in the US Virgin Islands in a press release.

Florida officials advised residents “to wear long sleeves and long pants when possible," and “use mosquito-proof screens on windows and doors.”

A resident of San Cristobal, southeast of Santo Domingo with symptoms of chikungunya fever awaits to be treated
in the emergency sector of the Juan Pablo Pina Hospital. (AFP Photo / Erika Santelices)

Symptoms of the malaria-like illness include fever, headache, chills, sensitivity to light, and rash, vomiting and severe joint pain, according to World Health Organization (WHO). Occasional cases of eye, neurological and heart complications have been reported, as well as gastrointestinal complaints, it adds. They usually begin three to seven days after infection occurs. The consequences include a long period of joint pains which may persist for years in some cases. Though the virus rarely leads to death, the problem is that there is currently no vaccine available. The treatment only aims at improving the symptoms.

According to WHO, Chikungunya was first described during an outbreak in southern Tanzania in 1952, eastern Africa, and since then has been detected in nearly 40 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and also in the Americas.

The Pan American Health Organization says that about 165,000 cases have been either suspected or confirmed in the Caribbean since it was first documented in 2013-2014 with 14 death cases. Most of the cases have been detected in Dominican Republic, Guadalupe, Martinique and Haiti. - RT. 

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: "You Feel It In Your Bones, Fingers And Hands" - Rapid, Painful Chikungunya Virus Sweeping The Caribbean; Fourth Case In Florida; Spread By Mosquitoes!

May 22, 2014 - CARIBBEAN - They suffer searing headaches, a burning fever and so much pain in their joints they can barely walk or use their hands. It's like having a terrible flu combined with an abrupt case of arthritis.

Hospitals and clinics throughout the Caribbean are seeing thousands of people with the same symptoms, victims of a virus with a long and unfamiliar name that has been spread rapidly by mosquitoes across the islands after the first locally transmitted case was confirmed in December.

"You feel it in your bones, your fingers and your hands. It's like everything is coming apart," said 34-year-old Sahira Francisco as she and her daughter waited for treatment at a hospital in San Cristobal, a town in the southern Dominican Republic that has seen a surge of the cases in recent days.

The virus is chikungunya, derived from an African word that loosely translates as "contorted with pain." People encountering it in the Caribbean for the first time say the description is fitting. While the virus is rarely fatal it is extremely debilitating.

"It is terrible, I have never in my life gotten such an illness," said Maria Norde, a 66-year-old woman confined to bed at her home on the lush eastern Caribbean island of Dominica. "All my joints are in pain."

Outbreaks of the virus have long made people miserable in Africa and Asia. But it is new to the Caribbean, with the first locally transmitted case documented in December in French St. Martin, likely brought in by an infected air traveler. Health officials are now working feverishly to educate the public about the illness, knock down the mosquito population, and deal with an onslaught of cases.

Authorities are attempting to control mosquitoes throughout the Caribbean, from dense urban neighborhoods to beach resorts. There have been no confirmed cases of local transmission of chikungunya on the U.S. mainland, but experts say the high number of travelers to the region means that could change as early as this summer.

So far, there are no signs the virus is keeping visitors away though some Caribbean officials warn it might if it is not controlled. "We need to come together and deal with this disease," said Dominica Tourism Minister Ian Douglas.

One thing is certain: The virus has found fertile ground in the Caribbean. The Pan American Health Organization reports more than 55,000 suspected and confirmed cases since December throughout the islands. It has also reached French Guiana, the first confirmed transmission on the South American mainland.

The Pan American Health Organization says seven people in the Caribbean with chikungunya have died during the outbreak but they had underlying health issues that likely contributed to their death.

"It's building up like a snowball because of the constant movement of people," said Jacqueline Medina, a specialist at the Instituto Technologico university in the Dominican Republic, where some hospitals report more than 100 new cases per day.

Chikungunya was identified in Africa in 1953 and is found throughout the tropics of the Eastern Hemisphere. It is spread by two species of mosquitoes, aedes aegypti and aedes albopictus. It's also a traveler-borne virus under the right circumstances.

It can spread to a new area if someone has it circulating in their system during a relatively short period of time, roughly 2-3 days before the onset of symptoms to 5 days after, and then arrives to an area with the right kind of mosquitoes.

For years, there have been sporadic cases of travelers diagnosed with chikungunya but without local transmission. In 2007, there was an outbreak in northern Italy, so health authorities figured it was just a matter of time before it spread to the Western Hemisphere, said Dr. Roger Nasci, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"With the increase in travelers the likelihood that something like this would happen goes up and eventually it did," said Nasci, chief of a CDC branch that tracks insect-borne diseases. "We ended up with somebody at the right time and the right place infecting mosquitoes."

The two species of mosquitoes that spread chikungunya are found in the southern and eastern United States and the first local transmissions could occur this summer given the large number of U.S. travelers to the Caribbean, Nasci said. Already, the Florida Department of Health has reported at least four imported cases from travelers to Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Dominica.

"What we're seeing now is an increase in the number of infected travelers coming from the Caribbean, which is expected because there's a lot of U.S. travel, a lot of vacation travel, a lot of work travel," he said.

Around the Caribbean, local authorities have been spraying fogs of pesticides and urging people to remove standing pools of water where mosquitoes breed.

An estimated 60-90 percent of those infected show symptoms, compared to around 20 percent for dengue, which is common in the region. There is no vaccine and the only cure is treatment for the pain and fluid loss.

One consolation for those suffering from the illness is that unlike dengue, which has several variants, people only seem to get chikungunya once.

"The evidence suggests that once you get it and recover, once your immune system clears the virus you are immune for life," Nasci said. - Breitbart.

Palm Beach County Man Diagnosed With Chikungunya

A 66-year-old man became the first person in Palm Beach County — and the fourth in Florida — to come down with chikungunya fever after contracting the mosquito-borne virus in the Caribbean, the county Health Department announced Wednesday.

The unidentified man began feeling ill on May 15, shortly after returning home from a trip through the island of Hispaniola, Health Department spokesman Timothy O'Connor said. He was treated at a county hospital the following day and is recovering at home, where he is protecting himself from mosquitoes so as not to spread the virus.


WATCH: Palm Beach County man diagnosed with chikungunya.

Test results confirmed the chikungunya diagnosis late Tuesday. Last week, the Florida Department of Health confirmed three other imported cases of the disease in women in Broward, Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties. All of them had been traveling in the Caribbean when infected.- Sun Sentinel.