The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday that the world could be on the brink of another chikungunya epidemic, similar to the 2005 outbreak, unless swift measures are implemented to control its spread.
"Chikungunya is not a widely known disease, but it’s already circulating in 119 countries, placing 5.6 billion people at risk," Diana Rojas Alvarez, WHO's team lead on arboviruses, said during a UN briefing.
The virus, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, causes fever, rash, and intense joint pain, which can persist for weeks and cause long-term disability in up to 40% of those infected.
Since early 2025, the virus has triggered major outbreaks across Indian Ocean islands such as La Reunion, Mayotte, and Mauritius, with estimates suggesting that a third of La Reunion's population may have been infected.
The virus is also spreading across Madagascar, Somalia, Kenya, and South Asia, where countries like India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh are reporting increased cases. Infections have also reached Europe, with local transmission reported in France and suspected cases in Italy.
"The pattern mirrors what we saw in 2004–2005," Rojas warned. "We must act now to avoid history repeating itself."
While case numbers are currently declining in the Indian Ocean region due to seasonal changes, WHO emphasized the importance of early detection and a rapid response to minimize infections and long-term impacts.
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Norway has joined in the condemnation of recent incidents of Russian violation of allied airspaces with the latest being Denmark and at the same time revealed that its airspace was violated three times by Russia over spring and summer this year.
On Tuesday, NATO denounced Russia for breaching Estonian airspace last week, warning it would employ “all necessary military and non-military tools” in its defence against what it described as “a pattern of increasingly irresponsible behaviour” by Moscow.
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is currently on a working visit to New York, where he has held a series of bilateral meetings with representatives of major businesses and international organisations.
Semiconductor shares from Asia to Europe rose sharply on Tuesday after Nvidia unveiled a $100 billion partnership with OpenAI to build massive Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems requiring millions of processors.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
Australian authorities have reaffirmed that paracetamol is safe for pregnant women, rejecting U.S. claims that it raises the risk of autism in babies.
The United Nations agency focusing on the HIV/AIDS pandemic could close by the end of next year as the U.N. restructures in the face of a funding crisis, according to a U.N. document published online
The World Health Organization has started vaccinating frontline health workers and contacts of Ebola patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kasai province, where the virus outbreak has already claimed 16 lives.
Japan has reached a record 99,763 centenarians as of September 1, with women accounting for roughly 88 percent, marking the 55th consecutive year the country has hit this milestone.
The World Health Organization has added GLP-1 drugs to treat diabetes to its essential medicines list, alongside treatments for cystic fibrosis and cancer, and said it hopes this will improve global access to the costly drugs.
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