This blog I’m linking to is a little too dramatic, but it appears we are in for another Chik V outbreak in Jamaica. I don’t know how this is possible. Anecdotally, it seems about 75 per cent of the population had the virus last autumn. And we are now hearing that there are at least 20 deaths attributed to the virus. (Finally, the Ministry is admitting what we have been hearing for months now; that dozens of people have died due to complications caused by pre-existing conditions upon contracting the virus).
So I’m not sure how many more people can contract it. We’ve been told you cannot get it again. However, Dr. James Hospedales of the Caribbean Public Health Agency says that there will be another outbreak in a few years as the virus takes its natural cycle. Dr. Hospedales added that CPHA is studying the effects of Chik V. Let’s hope officials are better prepared this time around. As for me, it has just been the past month that I have been pain-free after falling ill last September. Let’s hope it stays this way, as I’m also hearing that there is a nasty flu going around that is causing more Chik V flare-ups.
Jamaican Journal 
I agree that officials had a lot of trouble tracking the outbreak because of self-diagnosis, but most people cannot afford the $8,000 for the test. And what then when they have the result? It does not help them recover…
We have no solid data on who contracted Chik-v. Instead, had lots of self diagnosis and little effort to check evidence to determine whether people had had Chik-v or dengue or flu or something else.
This is true. Does not instill much confidence in authorities.
But, it’s not necessarily the fault of officials that people won’t go to doctors or pay to have tests done, but rather self-diagnose and self-medicate. It’s also the nature of this (and some other normally non-deadly infections) that people thing that the cost-time relation means they prefer to save time and money, rather than spend both for confirmation.