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Preventive Measures for Travelers

Travelers should be advised to take measures to avoid being bitten by Aedes mosquitoes. No medications or vaccines are available to prevent a person from getting sick with chikungunya fever. Preventive measures are recommeded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and include the following:
Select accommodations with well-screened windows or air-conditioning when possible. Aedes mosquitoes typically live indoors and are often found in dark, cool places such as in closets, under beds, behind curtains, and in bathrooms. A traveler should be advised to use insecticides to get rid of mosquitoes in these areas.
Wear clothing that adequately covers the arms and legs, especially during the early morning and late afternoon.
Apply insect repellent to both skin and clothing (e.g., permethrin). The most effective repellents contain DEET (N,N-diethylmetatoluamide).
For long-term travelers, empty and clean or cover any standing water that can be mosquito-breeding sites in your accommodation (see also prevention by mosquito control).

See also:

Protection Against Mosquitoes, Ticks, and Other Insects and Arthropods: Details on products and practices to reduce your exposure to mosquitoes and other dangerous vectors
CDC Travel Notices: Outbreaks and Information

If you get sick with a fever and think you may have chikungunya fever, you should seek medical care. Although there is no specific treatment for the disease, a doctor may be able to help treat your symptoms. Avoid getting any other mosquito bites, because if you are sick and a mosquito bites you, it can spread the disease to other people. For more travel health information, see the CDC destinations section and search for the country you are planning to visit (see also figure 1).


Figure 1: Dark green denotes countries with current or previous local transmission of CHIKV, per CDC as of May 29, 2018.