Mr. Abromovitz is among at least 800,000 people this year in the Caribbean and surrounding nations who contracted the chikungunya pronounced chik-en-GUN-ya virus, a mosquito-borne illness similar to dengue, which causes fever and muscle pain that is sometimes severe. It is rarely fatal, but some people suffer debilitating muscle pain for months or years.  Chikungunya was spotted on St. Martin in December 2013 and quickly spread across the islands. Although common in Asia, it was the first time the painful disease was detected in the Western Hemisphere. Now, experts say, it’s here to stay and has become an important issue for governments in tourism-heavy countries to tackle.

via A Mosquito-Borne Virus Sweeps the Caribbean – NYTimes.com.