Overview

• The New York State Department of Health is investigating a suspected locally acquired chikungunya infection in Nassau County on Long Island.
• Patient samples have been sent to a state laboratory to confirm the diagnosis, after which officials will determine whether the infection was acquired locally or linked to travel.
• If verified, this would be the first recorded instance of local chikungunya transmission in New York.
• Routine mosquito pool testing in the area has not detected chikungunya, mosquito activity is waning with the season, and officials say current risk to the public remains very low.
• Local reporting identifies the patient as a 60-year-old woman from the Town of Hempstead who reported no recent travel before testing positive.