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Argentina Confirms Chikungunya Reintroduction as Cases Outpace Dengue

Health officials tie the rise to strong circulation in Bolivia and Brazil, ordering exhaustive testing.

Overview

  • Argentina’s Health Ministry reported the virus has re‑entered the country and logged more than 199 confirmed infections this season, with officials urging clinicians to test every febrile patient for chikungunya.
  • Salta remains the epicenter with 334 confirmed and probable cases linked to cross‑border spread, a 43% weekly jump that prompted joint surveillance and vector control with Bolivian authorities in Salvador MazzaYacuiba and Aguas Blancas–Bermejo.
  • Buenos Aires province declared an alert after a locally acquired case in Ingeniero Budge, Lomas de Zamora, where a focus blockade found seven more positives near the index patient and triggered door‑to‑door descacharrado and fumigation.
  • Tucumán confirmed two recent infections for a total of ten, while Jujuy reported 18 and Catamarca four, as lab checks of dengue‑negative samples in several provinces uncovered more local transmission.
  • Chikungunya spreads through the Aedes aegypti mosquito, causes intense joint pain, has no vaccine, and public advice now centers on removing standing water, using repellent, installing screens, and seeking care early to distinguish it from dengue.