WHO sounds alarm as Chikungunya virus threatens global spread

By Seun Greeners

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a stark warning about the accelerating threat of a global chikungunya outbreak, urging immediate international action to contain the mosquito-borne virus before it spirals into a major epidemic.

WHO experts revealed alarming parallels between current transmission patterns and those observed before a sweeping outbreak two decades ago. With cases emerging in 119 countries and an estimated 5.6 billion people at risk, WHO emphasized the urgency of ramping up surveillance, public health education, and mosquito control strategies.

"Chikungunya is not a disease that is widely known, but it has been detected and transmitted in 119 countries globally, putting 5.6 billion people at risk. We’re seeing the same warning signs, and we must act decisively to avoid history repeating itself,” said Dr. Diana Rojas Alvarez of WHO.

Rojas Alvarez recalled how from 2004 to 2005, a major chikungunya epidemic swept across the Indian Ocean, hitting small island territories before spreading globally and affecting almost half a million people.

"Today, WHO is seeing the same pattern emerge: since the beginning of 2025, Reunion, Mayotte, and Mauritius have all reported major chikungunya outbreaks. One-third of the population of Reunion is estimated to have been infected already," she said in Geneva.

Chikungunya causes high fever and intense joint pain, often leaving victims incapacitated for weeks. Though rarely fatal, its debilitating symptoms and rapid spread have raised alarm bells within global health circles.

The symptoms are similar to those of dengue fever and Zika virus disease, making it difficult to diagnose, according to the WHO.

Rojas Alvarez said that like 20 years ago, the virus was now spreading to other places in the region, such as Madagascar, Somalia and Kenya with epidemic transmission also occurring in south Asia.

In Europe, imported cases have also been reported, linked with the outbreak in the Indian Ocean islands. Local transmission has been reported in France, and suspected cases detected in Italy.

"Because these patterns of transmission were seen in the outbreak from 2004 onwards, WHO is calling for urgent action to prevent history from repeating itself, case fatality rate less than one percent, but when you start counting millions of cases, that one percent can be thousands of deaths.

"We are raising the alarm early so countries can prepare early, detect and strengthen all the capacities to avoid going through very large outbreaks," Rojas Alvarez said.

She explained that in regions where populations have little or no immunity, the virus can quickly cause significant epidemics, affecting up to three-quarters of the population.

Chikungunya virus is transmitted to humans by the bites of infected female mosquitoes, most commonly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.

The latter, which is known as the tiger mosquito, is venturing farther north as the world warms because of human-driven climate change.

They bite primarily during daylight hours, with peak activity often in the early morning and late afternoon.

The WHO urged people to protect themselves through measures like using mosquito repellent and not leaving water to stagnate in containers such as buckets, where mosquitoes can breed.