United States: The number of cases of a potentially debilitating mosquito-transmitted disease identified in the United Kingdom has risen to more than 40 so far this year, albeit still well below the peak in 1998 of 390 cases, the BBC reports.
More about the news
This increase in the clients with chikungunya virus may not seem alarming in terms of volume. Seventy-three individuals in the UK fell ill with chikungunya, compared to 27 individuals in the same period in 2024- a 170 percent increase in cases.
Chikungunya is a vector-borne disease that infects humans through mosquito bites. Though seldom deadly, chikungunya is similar in its symptoms to dengue fever and Zika, with swollen joints, rashes, and fatigue all being among its effects, as thecooldown.com reported.
As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), outbreaks have been known to occur in tropical or sub-tropical areas, and chikungunya cannot be transmitted between persons.
The surge in Chikungunya is due to a failure in mosquito control, not global warming. Mosquitoes, probably the number one killer of humans ever, are endemic to most of the world. Standing water is an invitation for their breeding. If people are (needlessly) afraid of carefully… pic.twitter.com/Xn0koXDbwR
— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) August 19, 2025
In the UK, cases diagnosed in 2025 were all linked to overseas travel. UK. Health Security Agency public health consultant Dr. Philip Veal told the BBC that the spike was worrying.
“Chikungunya can be a nasty disease, and we’re seeing a worrying increase in cases among travellers returning to the U.K.,” according to Veal.
On August 19, the New York Times reported that over 200,000 cases of the chikungunya virus had been registered in 2025, with 99 percent of cases in Latin America.
Nevertheless, 8,000 cases were registered in China, where the disease had never been seen before and where the World Health Organization was fearing the possible occurrence of an outbreak that occurred twenty years ago.
Furthermore, that outbreak wound up “contributing to a surge of new disabilities” owing to lingering effects of the disease, according to WHO chikungunya expert Dr. Diana Rojas Alvarez.
“You have people who were working, with no disabilities, and from one day to the next, they cannot even type on a phone, they can’t hold a pen,” stated Alvarez, who noted that the illness had adverse impacts on quality of life and economies at large, as thecooldown.com reported.
Two of the ways through which shifting climate patterns are accelerating the spread highlighted by The Times are by a correlated increase in extreme weather events.
“A warmer, wetter world provides a more suitable habitat. And extreme weather events can cause more breeding in floods — or displace people, who cluster in areas with poor water and sanitation supply,” the paper stated.