Chikungunya, what to know about the virus blocking festivals and events in the Verona area

The cases of the Chikungunya virus in the Veronese area are growing day by day, at the weekend they rose to 46, less than half the number recorded in the province of Modena, but there is still concern about the possible repercussions on public events, starting with festivals and village fairs.

Three outbreaks have already been cancelled or suspended, and there was also a reopening for the 'sagra del Ceo' this morning in Verona, with an outbreak that since 6 August - the day of the first confirmed contagion, in Arbizzano, a locality between Verona and Negrar di Valpolicella - has spread like wildfire, involving the capital city and Valpolicella, but also Affi and Isola della Scala, where the last case of infection was recorded.

A limited episode, tackled immediately with all precautions, activating disinfestation measures, but one that casts fears on the Fiera del Riso, the great gastronomic exhibition that will be inaugurated next Friday, 19 September, and that until 12 October expects more than 300,000 visitors from Italy and abroad.

A possible outbreak could jeopardise, at least in part, the holding of the exhibition.

Clean-up operations were also carried out in Verona and in the other localities where the contagions were recorded, in particular Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella. However, the Veneto Prevention Department confirmed that Verona is the only province in the Veneto region that has so far been affected by the Chikungunya virus, although only two of the 46 infected persons had to be hospitalised.