Chikungunya
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV)
- Family: Togaviridae
- Genus: Alphavirus
Morphology:
- Positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus
- Small, spherical viruses with envelopes
Other Important Facts:
- An insect-borne virus
Closely related to:
- the O’nyong’nyong virus
- the Ross River virus in Australia
- the viruses that cause eastern equine encephalitis and western equine encephalitis.
Transmission:
- Transmitted to humans by virus-carrying Aedes mosquitoes (generally Aedes aegypti mosquitoes).
- Chikungunya Fever is contracted via a human-mosquito-human pathway
- The main virus reservoirs are monkeys, but other species can also be affected, including humans.
- Chikungunya is emerging infection in India .
Incubation Period:
- Two to four days.
Clinical Manifestations:
- Illness with symptoms similar to dengue fever.
- The acute febrile phase of the illness lasts only two to five days.
Symptoms of the disease include:
- Fever
- A petechial or maculopapular rash of the trunk and occasionally the limbs
- Arthralgia or arthritis affecting multiple joints.
- The pain associated with CHIKV infection of the joints persists for weeks or months.
- Typically, the fever lasts for two days and then ends abruptly.
- Ocular inflammation may present as iridocyclitis and have retinal lesions as well.
- Pedal edema (swelling of legs) is observed in many patients.
Diagnosis:
- RT-PCR
- Vrus isolation
- Serological tests.
- Virus isolation provides the most definitive diagnosis but takes 1-2 weeks for completion.
Exam Important
- Chikungunya is emerging infection in India .
- Belongs to
- Family: Togaviridae
- The main virus reservoirs are monkeys, but other species can also be affected, including humans.
- Transmitted to humans by virus-carrying Aedes mosquitoes (generally Aedes aegypti mosquitoes).
- Chikungunya is an Abroviral infection.
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