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Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 2007;298:1752.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

An outbreak of chikungunya fever in the Italian province of Ravenna "marks the first recorded occasion that this virus has been transmitted by mosquitoes in Europe," according to a report published on September 6 (Angelini R et al. Euro Surveill. 2007;12[9]:E070906.1 and Depoortere E et al. Euro Surveill. 2006;11[5]:E060511.2). According to Italian health authorities, as of September 13, there were 254 suspected cases of chikungunya fever, 78 of which had been laboratory-confirmed (including 1 death, an 83-year-old man with severe underlying health problems).

Chikungunya fever is endemic in some areas of Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Epidemiological evidence indicated that the index case in the Italian outbreak was a man who was infected in India and developed symptoms 2 days after arriving in Italy. The virus was detected in Aedes albopictus mosquitoes (tiger mosquitoes), a species also found in the United States, primarily . . . [Full Text of this Article]