What is CHIKV?

CHIKV (or La Fev – the fever in Haiti) or Chikungunya virus has descended on Haiti with full force.  This spring the virus has been the news of the day everywhere in Haiti.  See this article by NPR at Heartline with Dr. Jen Halverson and Emma, a new mom whose baby got it.  Click here  So far almost everyone who lives in Haiti or has recently visited Haiti has had it.  And it has spread to the U.S.  This mosquito borne virus is similar to Malaria in that it is contracted through mosquito bites but it is different in that you can only get it the one time.

Excerpt from a recent Livesay blog: Chikungunya is an utter jerk and we flip in and out of fighting it with courage and feeling like it may never end. It is not linear in any way. Starting and finishing is how we like our illnesses, but this seems to be start, finish, start again. Two steps forward, one step back. It is frustrating to say the least.

Our Noah currently has a worse case of it than his little sisters had earlier in the week. He loves to win, but maybe not at this competition.His fever beats the others, he cannot move, he has been throwing up. It is hard to throw up without moving, but he is even perfecting this. Some (not all) others that had it a week or more ago are facing night fevers and restlessness and sore joints. As if Haiti doesn’t make you feel old and tired enough already.

Yesterday Beth asked for a show of hands of those women that had already had “the fever”. 80% of the women gathered raised their hands. Maybe Port au Prince will be saturated and finished with (the first finish of)this nonsense soon? Read more of the Livesay blog here.