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Cases reported in England rose from 27 to 73 in the first half of 2025, mostly linked to travel to Sri Lanka, India and Mauritius; UK health bodies stress bite\u2011avoidance and advise targeted use of newly authorised vaccines for at\u2011risk travellers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Holidaymakers have been urged to take mosquito-bite precautions after a sharp rise in travel\u2011associated chikungunya infections reported in England this year. According to the UK Health Security Agency\u2019s surveillance for January to June 2025, 73 cases were recorded in England over that period, up from 27 in the same months of 2024, with most infections linked to recent travel to Sri Lanka, India and Mauritius and concentrated in London. The agency says there is currently no risk of onward transmission in the UK because the two Aedes mosquito species that spread the virus are not established here. <\/p>\n
The increase in cases in England sits against a backdrop of substantial global activity. European and international public\u2011health monitoring puts the total number of chikungunya cases in 2025 in the low hundreds of thousands, with large outbreaks across the Americas and the Indian Ocean \u2014 notably R\u00e9union and Mayotte \u2014 and sizable rises in parts of Asia. China has also reported thousands of locally acquired infections in Guangdong province, where local authorities and health teams have moved to detect cases and limit mosquito breeding. <\/p>\n
Public\u2011health bodies warn the pattern seen in Europe is partly driven by infected travellers arriving from affected areas. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control notes that importation, together with the presence of competent Aedes vectors in parts of southern Europe, increases the risk of local transmission and has documented a small number of locally acquired cases this year in the EU. That said, UK agencies continue to assess the immediate risk to the British mainland as low. <\/p>\n
Clinically, chikungunya typically presents with an abrupt fever and intense joint pain \u2014 the symptom that gave the disease its name \u2014 often accompanied by rash, muscle pain, headache, nausea and fatigue. For most people symptoms resolve in days to weeks, but joint pain can persist for months or longer in some cases, and newborns, older adults and people with underlying health conditions face a higher risk of severe disease. Once recovered, people are usually immune to reinfection. <\/p>\n
There is now a medical countermeasure available in the UK. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved a live\u2011attenuated chikungunya vaccine, IXCHIQ, for adults in February 2025 and later authorised a second vaccine, Vimkunya, for use from age 12 in May 2025. The regulator said the authorised products are prescription\u2011only, elicit strong antibody responses in trials and will be subject to ongoing safety monitoring; it also listed common, generally transient side\u2011effects such as injection\u2011site reactions, fever and changes in blood counts. These approvals underpin a move towards targeted prevention, rather than universal vaccination, and clinicians are advised to consult national guidance and consider individual risk when recommending immunisation. <\/p>\n
Public\u2011health advice remains focused on avoiding mosquito bites. \u201cSimple steps, such as using insect repellent, covering exposed skin and sleeping under insecticide\u2011treated bed nets, can effectively reduce the risk,\u201d Hilary Kirkbride, head of travel health at the UKHSA, told The Independent. Travel medicine specialists echo that prevention is multifaceted: Dr Richard Dawood, a travel medical specialist at Fleet Street Clinic, told The Independent that the arrival of vaccines is \u201can extra tool in the armoury\u201d and that for frequent travellers or those likely to make repeat journeys to regions with ongoing transmission, vaccination may be worth considering. <\/p>\n
How travellers should act will depend on their itinerary and personal risk. Public\u2011health and travel\u2011medicine advisers recommend people travelling to areas with active outbreaks \u2014 or those who anticipate repeated travel to such regions over coming years \u2014 to seek tailored advice from a travel clinic, check up\u2011to\u2011date guidance such as TravelHealthPro, and discuss whether a prescription vaccine is appropriate. For most short, one\u2011off trips to low\u2011risk parts of Europe the immediate risk remains small, but the calculus changes if visiting outbreak hotspots. <\/p>\n
Responses where the virus is circulating have combined clinical surveillance and mosquito control. In China\u2019s Foshan city public\u2011health teams reported rapid case detection, laboratory confirmation and an intensive vector\u2011control response, while other jurisdictions have imposed broader containment measures. The ECDC has urged enhanced surveillance and vector control across Europe to reduce the likelihood that imported infections will seed local transmission. <\/p>\n
For now, UK health authorities continue to emphasise prevention and proportionate monitoring: check official travel health advice before you go, use proven bite\u2011avoidance measures, and consult a clinician about vaccination if you are travelling to a country with current chikungunya activity or have individual risk factors that would make disease more serious. <\/p>\n