According to research led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, out of the 410 000 cases of GBS detected globally every year, 147 000 end in stillbirth or infant death. In 2015 Africa had the highest incidence of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, including infant death. The research found GBS was present all over the world, with an average of 25 per cent of pregnant women colonised with the bacteria (ranging from 11 per cent in eastern Asia to 35 per cent in the Caribbean).

Chikungunya is a vector-borne infection which is caused by the chikungunya virus.

It is transmitted to humans by infected female mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus also called tiger mosquito) which breed in stagnant water and are also responsible for dengue fever.

These mosquitoes bite only during the daytime, and the peak activity is in the early morning and late afternoon.

The first chikungunya outbreak occurred in southern Tanzania in 1952. The disease is caused by a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that belongs to the Alphavirus genus of the family Togaviridae. The virus’s name comes from the Makonde language of Tanzania and means to bend up. It describes the stooped appearance of sufferers with joint pain.

Chikungunya has clinical features similar to those of dengue and Zika and can be misdiagnosed in areas where they are common.