According to authorities, virus that causes chikungunya has made its way to the US Virgin Islands after spreading rapidly in the Caribbean. The first case of chikungunya locally transmitted in the island has been confirmed by health officials in the US Caribbean territory.

The health officials have not revealed any information about the infected patient. The virus has also infected a second patient in the three-island territory, but it was contracted elsewhere. In order to raise awareness and
prevent the spread of the disease, local authorities have been working with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies, said Health Commissioner Darice Plaskett from the island of St. Croix.

Since health authorities confirmed the Western Hemisphere's first locally transmitted case in the Caribbean in December, about 135,000 suspected and confirmed cases have been recorded. The viral disease was first found in Africa and it has spread at a rapid pace. Dozens of confirmed cases have been recorded in French Guiana and Guyana on the northern shoulder of South America.

The Forsyth County Department of Public Health (FCDPH) confirmed the first case of chikungunya virus infection in a North Carolina patient at a press conference Thursday morning. The man contracted the virus after traveling to the Caribbean.

"The FCDPH is working closely with the North Carolina Division of Public Health, providers, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help with diagnosis testing in symptomatic persons returning from the Caribbean or other areas of the world affected with outbreaks of Chikungunya", said Marlon Hunter, health director.

No treatment has been developed so far by medical experts to treat chikungunya. The only way to better the plight of the patient is to wait until the immune system starts developing the proper antibodies to fight back.