New Delhi:India could experience the biggest impacts of chikungunya in the long-term, potentially putting 51 lakh people at risk of the mosquito-borne infection every year, a global modelling study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Global Health suggests.

Brazil and Indonesia might be the second and third most affected, with impacts due to the disease in India and Brazil accounting for 48 per cent of the global impact on healthcare systems and individuals, the findings show.

The study, led by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, suggests chronic health impacts will be the biggest concern.

existing evidence suggesting around 50 per cent of the affected possibly grappling with a long-term disability.

Around the world, more than 1.40 crore people every year could be at risk of chikungunya infection in the long term, the study estimated.

Chikungunya is a virus that spreads through bites of the 'Aedes aegypti' and 'Aedes albopictus' mosquitoes, more commonly known as yellow fever and tiger mosquitoes.

Source:Ndtv