Chikungunya is a debilitating inflammatory virus carried by mosquitoes. The University of Iowa is one of three sites in the U.S. that is enrolling participants for a clinical trial of an experimental vaccine for chikungunya. The illness has been found in the U.S. and in Iowa, but it is not currently a widespread concern across the country.
Iowa's State Epidemiologist Patricia Quinlisk says that, "most of the people who going to be at risk are people who travel particularly to tropical areas."
In this River to River segment, host Ben Kieffer is joined by Quinlisk, as well as University of Iowa professor of internal medicine, Patricia Winokur, who explains how the vaccine was developed and how the trials are conducted.
Also joining the conversation is assistant professor of entomology at Iowa State University, Ryan Smith. He studies mosquitoes and how they transmit disease. This summer he will continue work on trapping and testing mosquitoes in Iowa.