CDC Issues Travel Advisory for Chikungunya Outbreak
U.S. health officials have raised a concern for American travelers heading to specific tropical regions due to an ongoing outbreak of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne illness that currently has no effective treatment.
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a Level 2 travel advisory for Cuba, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Guangdong province in southern China. They are advising travelers to “take increased precautions” in these areas.
While there is no cure for chikungunya, it can be prevented through vaccination, and the CDC recommends this for those visiting endemic regions. Common symptoms of the disease include fever and joint pain, but some may also experience headaches, muscle aches, swollen joints, and rashes. Symptoms typically show up three to seven days after a mosquito bite, and most individuals recover within a week.
In severe instances, symptoms can turn quite debilitating, with joint pain persisting for months or even years. There’s also a possibility that hospitalization may be required due to organ damage and, in rare cases, mortality, as noted by the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to a WHO update from October 3, there were approximately 445,000 suspected and confirmed chikungunya cases worldwide from January to September 2025, leading to 155 deaths.
In Bangladesh alone, 700 suspected chikungunya cases were reported in the capital, Dhaka, during the same time frame, as per the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research.
As of late September, Guangdong province in China had recorded 16,000 locally transmitted chikungunya cases, marking the largest outbreak in the country’s history. Cuba reported only 34 confirmed cases between January and September, and local health strategies have been put in place to limit the spread.
Sri Lanka experienced 150 confirmed cases from January 1 to early March, with the peak occurring in June.
The CDC has also highlighted a risk for Americans traveling to Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand, where the chances of chikungunya infection might be elevated—even if there are no recent reported outbreaks. As a note, there have been no locally transmitted cases in the U.S. since 2019.
