Chikungunya

Chikungunya Latest News

The New York State Department of Health recently confirmed the first locally acquired case of chikungunya in the United States in over six years.

About Chikungunya

• It is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). 
• It causes fever and severe joint pain. 
• It was first described during an outbreak in southern Tanzania in 1952 and has now been reported in more than 110 countries in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe.
• The name “chikungunya” derives from a word in the Kimakonde language of southern Tanzania, meaning “that which bends up” and describes the stooped appearance of infected people with severe joint pain (arthralgia).

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Chikungunya Transmission

• It is transmitted to humans by the bites of infected female mosquitoes, most commonly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. 
• These two species can also transmit other viruses, including dengue and Zika viruses.
• It is not transmitted from one person to another. (i.e., it is not a contagious disease).

Chikungunya Symptoms

• In symptomatic patients, CHIKV disease onset is typically 4–8 days (range 2–12 days) after the bite of an infected mosquito. 
• The most common symptom is an abrupt onset of fever, often accompanied by joint pain. 
• Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue, and rash. 
• Severe joint pain usually lasts a few days but can persist for months or even years. 
• Serious complications are uncommon, but atypical severe cases can cause long-term symptoms and even death, especially in older people and in children under one year old.

Chikungunya Treatment

• There is no vaccine or antiviral drug treatment for chikungunya.
• Treatment is focused on relieving the symptoms.

Source: FE