DAVAO CITY – Cases of chikungunya have recurred here after more than 10 years as the local health office reported two confirmed infections with 16 suspected this month.

Melanie Babante, Pest Control Worker II, Tropical Diseases Prevention and Control Unit, City Health Office, in an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) Wednesday, June 15, said that the first two cases were confirmed by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa City in the first week of June based on the laboratory results of the specimens sent by the local government after they manifested symptoms of the disease.

The first confirmed cases here since February 2012 were a 39-year-old mother and her 12-year-old child, both residents of Purok 27 Farmville, Barangay Ilang, Bunawan District.

Both have recovered from the disease, except for the mother who continues to suffer from severe joint pains rendering her unable to walk long distances, she said. Babante suspected the recurrence of the infection was due to increased mobility of the people.

She said the mother, who worked as a land broker, traveled to the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) in Davao del Norte before contracting the infection.

Babante said local health authorities are still awaiting the laboratory results on the specimens of the 16 suspected cases, who manifest symptoms characterized by joint pain, fever, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, and rash. Babante also said that joint paints in some patients would last up to one year.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), symptoms “appear between four and seven days after the patient has been bitten by the infected mosquito.”

“Chikungunya shares some clinical signs with dengue and can be misdiagnosed in areas where dengue is common, therefore the incidence of chikungunya could be much higher than what has been previously reported,” it added.

Babante said the local government has conducted information education campaign in the barangays to contain the spread of the infection, undertaking household surveillance, checking for possible breeding places of the mosquitos, and indoor residual spraying.

She told residents here to keep water containers covered and maintain the cleanliness of their surroundings to deprive the Chikungunya-causing Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus of breeding grounds.

Mosquitos that cause Chikungunya also carry dengue and zika virus, according to Babante.

Babante said some symptoms of Chikungunya may last longer even after patients have been cleared of the infection and can even trigger severe gout and arthritis in some cases.