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5d ago

Travel-Linked Chikungunya Cases Double in UK as First Oropouche Cases Recorded

UKHSA data show 73 chikungunya infections in returning travellers from early 2025, with officials stressing that the virus cannot spread locally in the absence of Aedes mosquitoes.

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Overview

  • Seventy-three chikungunya cases were reported among UK travellers between January and June 2025, up from 27 in the same period of 2024.
  • All chikungunya infections were recorded in England and primarily linked to travel to Sri Lanka, India and Mauritius.
  • The UKHSA identified three Oropouche virus cases in travellers from Brazil, marking the first detections of the midge-borne disease in Britain.
  • Health authorities confirm that onward chikungunya transmission in the UK remains unlikely because Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are not established domestically.
  • Travellers are being urged to use insect repellent, wear protective clothing and sleep under insecticide-treated nets, and two chikungunya vaccines are available privately after clinical assessment.