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Last updated on Friday, July 18, 2014
(INDIANAPOLIS) - Six more Hoosiers have tested positive for the chikungunya virus, the Indiana Department of Health announced Thursday.
In June, health officials said Michelle Curran had contracted the virus, which is transmitted by mosquitos, while on a mission trip in Haiti.
Now, six more Hoosiers have tested positive for the virus, including four teens who were recently on mission trips in the Caribbean.
"Unfortunately, we did expect more cases in Indiana this summer with more Hoosiers traveling to the Caribbean for vacation, business or mission trips," said Jennifer Brown, DVM, State Public Health Veterinarian at the Indiana State Department of Health. "If you are traveling to the Caribbean or other areas of the world where chikungunya is found, be sure to take precautions against mosquito bites."
Health officials said chikungunya does not often cause death, but can cause severe symptoms, including high fever and severe joint pain.
Curran told us in June that the so-called "breaking bone disease" left her in bed for days.
"Like right now I still have lingering arthritic pains it kind of feels like really bad shin splints and it's hard to clench my hands and that sort of thing. But it's not as bad as it was in the first three to four days of the symptoms," Curran said.
An Allen County resident who had recently traveled to the Caribbean also tested positive for the virus in June .
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