Filmmaker Kiran Rao confirmed that she has been infected with the mosquito-borne virus chikungunya. Rao, who has helmed hits likeLaapataa LadiesandDhobi Ghat, confirmed in her Instagram stories that she has contracted the disease and is “taking it slow” as she struggles with a fever and severe joint pain.
“Ok folks, I now have Chikungunya,” Rao, 52, wrote on a photo of herself lying on a couch, underneath some blankets, while her cat, Miri, sat nearby.
Chikungunya gained attention last year when 7,000 people were infected in an outbreak in China. Earlier this month, the US also issued a travel warning for the Seychelles islands due to an increase in the disease. In India, the condition spreads every monsoon, but of late it has been continuing throughout the year.
Kiran Rao's Instagram story where she confirms Chikungunya
Chikungunya, also known as CHIKV, is a virus that spreads to people through mosquito bites - specifically, through theAedesaegyptimosquito and Aedes albopictus mosquito. Chikungunya infection happens when a mosquito with the virus bites a person. The virus doesn’t spread from person to person through bodily contact or saliva, although blood transmission may be possible.
The virus causes symptoms like fever and joint pain, which can become severe. The name chikungunya means “bent over” due to the joint pain the illness is known to cause. There’s no medication to treat chikungunya. Treatment focuses on managing your symptoms. Most people recover from the illness in about one week, but some have lasting joint pain.
Those traveling to areas with active chikungunya transmission should be overly cautious about avoiding mosquito bites. It’s especially important to avoid getting more mosquito bites for about one week once you have the virus. This is because an uninfected mosquito could bite you and become infected, further spreading the virus.
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Doctors say most symptoms of chikungunya develop between three and seven days after an infected mosquito bites you, although some people have symptoms as early as two days or as long as 12 days after a mosquito bite. While fever and joint pain are the most common symptoms, a few other symptoms include:
According to theCleveland Clinic, the most common complication of the virus is chronic joint pain. Some people report pain for months or years after chikungunya infection. Newborns, older adults (who are older than 65 years of age, and those with certain health conditions are at risk for more severe complications from the virus. These health conditions include:
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