The Central Labarotory of the Public Health Bureau and the Academic Hospital Paramaribo (AZP) reported 8 confirmed cases of chikungunya. Meanwhile 6 neighborgoods have been labeled as risk areas due to the many infections with the chikungunya virus. Due to the severity of the situation health officials expect the number of cases to rise. Reports indicate that a growing number of students from schools and workers from local businesses are calling in sick every day. Most of the people who call in sick display the typical symptoms of the chikungunya virus.

The most common symptom is an abrupt onset of fever, often accompanied by joint pain. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue, and rash. Severe joint pain usually lasts a few days but can persist for months or even years. Suriname had its first chikungunya outbreak in 2014. At that time more than 700 infections and 1 death were reported. In 2014 many neighborgoods were also labeled as risk areas due to the high number of infections. The neighborhoods that were recently labeled as risk areas are Marowijneproject, Blauwgrond, Geyersvlijt, Clevia, Tamansari and Richelieu. In order to tackle the spread of chikungunya the government has launched a big cleanup program in the risk areas.