Health · Public Health & Disease · 14 hrs ago
Four people in Bellinzona catch chikungunya fever
Four people in the same Bellinzona neighbourhood have chikungunya fever.
Canton doctor Giorgio Merlani said two may have been bitten by the same tiger mosquito, while the other two cases may be linked to its offspring.
After tests confirmed the infections, the canton sprayed a substance to kill adult tiger mosquitoes with support from SUPSI, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland.
The treatment is expected to be effective because tiger mosquitoes usually travel no more than 100 metres in their lifetime.
Tiger mosquitoes are spreading in Switzerland, and warmer temperatures can help the chikungunya virus develop faster inside them.
The illness can cause high fever, headaches and muscle or joint pain, but most people recover fully.
Severe illness is more likely in infants and very old people; no further next steps are reported.
Four people in the same neighborhood in Bellinzona, Switzerland, have contracted chikungunya fever.
Two may have been bitten by the same Asian tiger mosquito, while the other two cases are thought to be linked to its offspring.
The canton and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland sprayed a substance to kill adult tiger mosquitoes.
Most people infected with chikungunya recover fully, while severe cases mainly affect infants and very old people.
- Who
- Four people living in the same neighborhood contracted chikungunya fever.
- What
- The canton took measures to kill adult tiger mosquitoes after the infections were confirmed.
- When
- The report was published on 4 November 2026. The date the infections occurred is not stated.
- Where
- Bellinzona, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.
- Why
- The infections may be linked to tiger mosquitoes: two people may have been bitten by the same mosquito, and two cases may be linked to its offspring.
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- Cases
- Four people
- Location
- Same neighborhood in Bellinzona, Ticino
- Possible source
- Two cases may be linked to one tiger mosquito; two others to its offspring
- Mosquito control
- The canton and SUPSI sprayed a substance to kill adult tiger mosquitoes
- Publication date
- 4 November 2026
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What people are saying
In theory, transmission could therefore also occur here