Health officials expressed grave concern over the fact that there are already 1,150 confirmed cases. They also expressed concern over the fact that the symptoms of the virus are worser this time.

Medical experts who have been assigned to the workgroup that has been tasked with tackling chikungunya explained that lab tests confirmed that 1,150 people tested positive for chikungunya. “If somebody shows up with the typical symptoms, the clinical diagnosis could label it as chikungunya. The data from the lab confirms that it is nothing else,” said the experts who added that there are no indications that something else is circulating. The medical experts believe that the official numbers do not represent the actual picture. “Not everybody with symptoms is tested. It is senseless to test everybody,” said one of the experts. When it comes to lab tests the focus is on risk groups such as pregnant women and people with underlying diseases. The medical experts pointed out that there is cause for concern because the current virus behaves more aggressively than the one during the previous outbreak. In 2013-2014 there was a relatively low risk of death but this time it is equal to or even higher than other deadly diseases.

“The virus that we are seeing this time has mutated.” Another alarming fact is that pregnant women are also testing positive for chikungunya in the last weeks of their pregnancy. Two newborns tested positive for chikungunya. During the previous outbreak such a pattern was not detected. This time the risk for complications has risen. There have been confirmed cases of chikungunya in 7 of the 10 districts of Suriname. Only 3 districts have not had any confirmed cases of chikungunya namely Brokopondo, Sipaliwini and Saramacca. So far there has only been 1 confirmed case of chikungunya in the Coronie District. The current data has made it clear that the virus has spread beyond the urban regions. Suriname faces a huge challenge due to a shortage of tools to tackle the virus.