MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/. An imported case of the chikungunya infection has been registered in a female Moscow resident, who returned home from a vacation in the Seychelles, the Russian Federal State Agency for Health and Consumer Rights (Rospotrebnadzor) said.
"An imported case of the chikungunya fever has been registered in the Russian Federation. Earlier, Rospotrebnadzor informed about potential risks of this infection being imported from other countries. Its specialists are ready for such a scenario. The infected person returned to Moscow from a vacation in the Seychelles," Russia’s public health authority said.
"The risk of it spreading across the country’s territory is minimal, because the virus is transmitted through bites of infected mosquitoes, and is not capable of direct human-to-human transmission," the agency added.
According to the statement, the patient was often bitten by mosquitoes during her vacation, and did not use repellents. She was hospitalized upon returning to the country and tested positive for the disease. The test was done with the help of a testing kit developed by Rospotrebnadzor.
The watchdog said all the necessary precautions have been taken.
The chikungunya virus is endemic to African countries to the south of the Sahara Desert, as well as regions of Central and Southern America, Southeast Asia, West Pacific, the Arab Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent. The state agency recommends that all those travelling to these areas take precautions to prevent mosquito bites: to use repellents, to install anti-mosquito nets on windows and doors, and wear trousers and tops with long sleeves.