Actress Lindsay Lohan is hogging the headlines again, but this time for a completely different condition. According to her tweets a couple of days ago, she's just been diagnosed with Chikungunya.
Chikungunya is one of the viral diseases caused by a bite from an infected mosquito, especially Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti. First discovered in 1952 in a region in Tanzania, it's very common in Asia and Africa. However, lately it has spread in the Americas and Europe. In December 2013 to early months of 2014, there were thousands of reported cases in the Caribbean, particularly in St. Martin. It has also reached the United States through Florida.
Although it's rarely fatal, it's debilitating. It is characterized by a sudden onset of fever, as well as rashes, fatigue, and nausea. Because it shares a very similar profile with dengue, it is often misdiagnosed. But one of the distinct features of Chikungunya is joint pain. In fact, its name can be translated to being contorted, which could be how a patient will look like when he's suffering from pain in the joints. The other symptoms may go away over time, but the joint pain can hang around for as long as many years.
Like dengue, there's no known cure for Chikungunya. The therapies available are mainly to help relieve the symptoms and give the patient's immunity a chance to develop the antibodies to eventually eliminate the virus.
In Lindsay's case, the 28-year-old was on a holiday in French Polynesia, perhaps to celebrate Christmas, when she contracted the disease. She first shared the news via Twitter on December 27, Saturday. She also reminded her followers to never forget to apply bug spray. One of the best ways to deal with mosquito-borne diseases is to prevent a bite by using insect repellants.
The disease, however, failed to dampen the star's spirit as she shared a selfie of herself wearing a 1920s-inspired dress to celebrate the New Year.