Health authorities in Haiti will begin to hand out pain medication to clinics all over the country amid a surge in cases of chikungunya, an illness brought about by a mosquito-borne virus.

There are now more than 5, 500 possible cases of chikungunya in Haiti, up from the 1,500 cases reported last week, according to Public Health Minister Florence Guillaume.

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Guillaume said in an interview on Radio Caribe that Haiti has the capacity to distribute 400,000 doses of acetaminophen, and said everyone who may have contracted the virus can get the mdicines for free. She also urged people who are experiencing lasting fever for more than 72 hours to immediately seek treatment from medical professionals.

More than 55,000 confirmed and suspected chikungunya cases have been recorded in the Carribean region since the first case was announced in French St. Martin in December 2013.

There is no available vaccine or treatment yet for chikungunya, a condition that is characterized by fever and extreme joint pains which sufferers have described as worse than arthrities. Medical practitioners usually prescribe pain killers to help ease the pain of chikungunya victims.

Patients who contract the disease also experience nausea, headache, vomiting, partial loss of taste, conjunctivitis, as well as slight photophobia or aversion to light. 

The incubation period for the disease ranges from one to 12 days.

Chikungunya is not considered fatal, but there have been several recorded deaths associated with the disease, particularly among the elderly or those who were diagnosed with other medical conditions.