Investigation of a Mosquito-Borne Chikungunya Fever Outbreak in Langsuan District, Chumphon: February 26 - March 8, 2019

Abstract

At 10.00 a.m. on February 26, 2017, the Paknam Langsuan Subdistrict Municipality Center sent notification that five patients had attended a clinic in the subdistrict presented with a fever and a rash to the Division of Communicable Disease Control, Primary and Holistic Care Department, Paknam Langsuan Hospital and the Division of Communicable Disease Control, Langsuan District Public Health Office. The patients had a fever, chill, join pain, malaise, and rashes. The Langsuan District’s Surveillance and Rapid Response Team (SRRT) commenced a disease investigation the same day at 01.00 p.m. to describe the outbreak characteristics of the mosquito-borne Chikungunya Fever in Langsuan District, Chumphon, Thailand, regarding the local population, location, and event chronology. The study focused on discovering the outbreak cause, the contact characteristics of the disease, and an analysis of the disease risk factors to control and prevent further outbreaks. A descriptive epidemiological study was conducted. The results reveal that 55 patients had Chikungunya fever symptoms in Langsuan district in the period January 1 - March 3, 2019. Of these, 45 were suspected cases, 8 probable cases, and 2 confirmed cases. Most cases were in the age group of < 20 years (36.40%) and were identified as either students, agricultural workers, or other employees. The outbreak model was a propagated source, and the disease risk factor is the topography of Langsuan District, which is a flat area in southern Thailand on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. This area experiences regular precipitation throughout the year, and stagnant water collects in plains or basins which serve as breeding grounds for the disease-carrying Aedes Aegypti mosquito species. The source of the disease is mosquito larvae which are found in local houses, but the search for exposure to the disease extended to other communal areas and schools. Measures implemented to control and prevent the spread of the disease outbreak included spraying mosquitos, eliminating mosquito larvae, providing health education, advising people of self-protection measures, educating people about the associated with fever, and recommending personal care following symptoms of the disease. After the outbreak control and prevention measures extended beyond the surveillance period, had not found the patients to match the definition of the disease by the end of March 2019. In the long-term, recommendations for timely and effective disease control include creating a surveillance system, rapid control and disease prevention, and prompt notification of news of an outbreak.