Before 2006, chikungunya was rarely seen in US travelers from endemic regions; however, from 2006 until 2013, an average of 28 cases per year were reported in US travelers. In 2013, chikungunya cases arrived in the northern Americas from Africa to St. Martin in the Caribbean. The virus spread rapidly throughout Mexico, Central America, and South America. An Asian strain was also introduced to these areas.
The first locally acquired case of chikungunya in the US was reported in July 2014, only nine months after the first cases were reported in the Caribbean. In 2014, there were 12 locally mosquito-transmitted cases in Florida. There have been no reported locally acquired cases for US states since 2015 and for US territories since 2020.
As of 2024, 199 US travel-associated cases had been reported. Among these cases, a higher-than-expected number of cases were noted among travelers returning from India.
