Twenty-one children are among 33 people who have died in Cuba of the mosquito-borne chikungunya and dengue viruses since July, authorities said Monday.

Most of the deaths were attributed to chikungunya — characterized by fever and joint pain that can be debilitating but rarely fatal — while the flu-like dengue claimed 12 lives, the country's deputy health minister Carilda Pena said on state TV.

The chikungunya virus emerged in Cuba's western Matanzas province in July, but soon spread to all 15 provinces of the country of 9.7 million people.

The chikungunya virus was first identified in Africa in the early 1950s. Chikungunya's symptoms include severe joint aches, fever, and fatigue, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Symptoms usually start within three t

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