Deadly virus that prompted Covid-era restrictions in China now in the US, officials confirm
The deadly mosquito-borne virus that prompted quarantines and restrictions in China this summer has been confirmed to be in the United States.
New York health officials first reported in September that a 60-year-old woman from Hempstead, a town on Long Island about 20 miles east of Manhattan, was diagnosed with suspected chikungunya virus in August.
She said she hadn’t traveled off the island, home to more than eight million people and the celebrity-loved Hamptons, and now officials report that lab testing confirmed the virus, making her the first locally acquired case of chikungunya ever reported in New York.
Dr James McDonald, the state health commissioner, said in a statement: ‘We urge everyone to take simple precautions to protect themselves and their families from mosquito bites.’
Chikungunya is spread by mosquitoes and can cause sudden, agonizing joint pain in the hands and feet that can be so severe it leaves sufferers unable to move normally for months.
Since the beginning of this year, more than 317,000 cases and 135 chikungunya-related deaths have been reported in 16 countries. The virus has also been present in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe.
A severe outbreak in China totaling more than 10,000 cases prompted the CDC to issue a level 2 travel warning for the Guangdong Province, the epicenter, in August.
The spread of the mosquito-borne disease triggered a roll out of Covid-like restrictions in China, with patients quarantined in hospitals and electricity cut off to residents who did not follow government health protocols.
Chikungunya is a ‘nationally notifiable’ condition in the US, meaning health authorities can voluntarily report cases to the agency for national tracking and monitoring. While a handful of cases pop up in the US every year from people traveling to high-risk areas, America hasn’t experienced local transmission since 2019.
Workers spray insecticide at a residential community on July 28, 2025 in Dongguan, Guangdong Province of China. The province was the epicenter of a chikungunya virus outbreak this summer
The virus has been confirmed in a woman who lives on Long Island, New York, home to eight million people and the celebrity-loved Hamptons (file photo above)
But with more than 4.7million US passengers flying internationally on any given day, mosquitoes in America could bite an infected traveler and begin transmitting the virus locally to Americans.
Three additional people in New York have tested positive for chikungunya in 2025 after returning from countries where the virus is known to circulate, according to the New York Department of Health.
A New York Health Department of Health spokesman told NTD News in September: ‘No locally acquired cases have ever been reported in New York State, and the risk to the public remains very low.’
And the state health department said in Tuesday’s announcement of the confirmation: ‘An investigation suggests that the individual likely contracted the virus following a bite from an infected mosquito.
‘While the case is classified as locally acquired based on current information, the precise source of exposure is not known.”
Local mosquito surveillance has not detected chikungunya virus in local insect populations.
The virus is spread primarily by the Aedes mosquito species and nearly half a million people became infected between 2004 and 2005, leading to a worldwide epidemic.
Diana Rojas Alvarez, a medical officer at the World Health Organization, said this summer of the new cases: ‘We are seeing history repeating itself,’ referencing the 2004-2005 epidemic.
A worker fumigates a park during a mosquito control sequence ordered by France’s Regional Health Agency (ARS) as part of a vector control operation for chikungunya last month
The above map shows the 12-month chikungunya virus case notification rate per 100,000 people from September 2024 to August 2025
Chikungunya infections are most common in Asia, Africa and South America, though more recently cases have also emerged across Europe and the US.
The virus can cause symptoms like fever, joint pain and life-threatening complications related to the heart and brain.
About 15 to 35 percent of people infected with the virus are asymptomatic, the CDC reports.
The incubation period is typically three to seven days, and the most common symptom is a sudden onset of a fever over 102 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius).
Deaths are rare, but can occur in severe cases.
The infection does not spread from person to person through bodily contact or saliva and can only be transmitted through a bite from an infected mosquito.
Since there is no specific medical treatment for the chikungunya infections, though certain therapies are used to manage symptoms and any lasting complications, experts ask people to regularly use insect repellents and wear long-sleeve clothing to prevent mosquito bites.
There are two vaccines available but they are not routine and only recommended for people visiting areas with an outbreak or that may pose a higher risk of infection.
