A Filipina migrant worker was found to be infected by the chikungunya virus last Friday when she returned to Taiwan from her home country after a vacation.
The woman, who was working as a technician in a technology company in Tainan, a city on Taiwan’s southwest coast, traveled to the Philippines on June 8 and returned to Taiwan on June 23, according to Taiwan Times report on Thursday that cited a media briefing from Tainan’s Dengue Prevention and Control Research Center.
When she arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, she was found to have a fever and red spots on her arms and legs. She gave a blood sample, then went to her dormitory in Tainan. The sample later showed up positive for the chikungunya virus, which is similar to Dengue and can be spread by mosquitoes.
The research center said the woman’s three roommates showed no symptoms of being affected with the virus. It said it will continue to monitor the area around the dormitory for any mosquitoes carrying the virus.
Symptoms shown by those infected by the chikungunya virus include fever, joint pain, muscle pain and a rash. These typically occur two to 12 days after exposure. There is no vaccine for the disease.