An unnamed person living in New York, on Long Island, has tested positive for a mosquito-borne illness called Chikungunya Virus, according to PBS.org. This is the first time a human has reportedly been diagnosed in the past six years. But what is the virus? Is this an outbreak New Englanders should be worried about? Here’s what to know.

The Chikungunya Virus is a virus you can get from being bitten by a mosquito. The Chikungunya virus is very similar to the Zika virus. You get them both from mosquitoes, and they both cause you to get rashes, fevers, and sometimes you even get neurological problems from the viruses. 

The reason that it’s named the Chikungunya is because it means “bent over” from the Kimakonde language. They named it that because when you get this virus, you tend to bend over in pain from your joints.

Chikungunya was first discovered in 1952 in Tanzania. There is no medication that will heal you from this virus. Symptoms that you get are fever, rashes, and joint pain. Once you get the virus, you can’t spread it to other people because it can only be spread through blood. One thing to keep in mind is that once you get the virus, you need to try not to get bitten by another mosquito because they can spread the virus by taking your infected blood. This virus only lasts roughly a week. Some lasting effects are joint pain. 

This virus affects 110 countries worldwide. According to PBS, on October 15th, 2025, there was a man in New York who tested positive for this virus. This was the first case known in the last six years in the United States. 

There is no need to worry about there being an outbreak. Since the weather is getting colder, there is a very low chance of spreading the virus across the United States.