2. Fever
There are many types of illnesses that can cause a person to run a fever. However, a high fever is also characteristic during the onset of chikungunya. A person who was bitten by a mosquito and starts to run a fever should be checked out by a doctor to see if they have chikungunya. The fever can reach as high as 104 degrees F and may last for a few days.
Most commonly, the fever will start about a week or so after the person has been bitten by an infected mosquito. Even when a person’s illness follows the pattern, coming up with an accurate diagnosis is not quite so simple. If the person lives in an area where the disease is not common, it increases the chances of a misdiagnosis. The symptoms of chikungunya are often confused with malaria symptoms as well as other illnesses that are more common and familiar to the area they live in.