Chikungunya is a viral disease spread by the bite of infected Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes.

It
causes fever, severe joint pain and rash on the body.
The virus belongs to the family-Togoviridae, and the genus is Alpha virus.
Genetic analysis of the Chikungunya viruses reveal that there are two distinct types of the virus- one
contains all isolates from western Africa and the second comprising all southern and East African
strains, as well as isolates from Asia.
Symptoms and Signs of Chikungunya
The incubation period of chikungunya is usually 1-12 days. This means the disease manifests 1 to 12
days after the mosquito bite. The symptoms of chikungunya include the following Fever (> 40 C / 104 F)
Headache
Joint pain (or arthralgia)
Arthritis affecting multiple joints that can be debilitating
Swelling of Joints
Rash (may occur rarely)
Sometimes there maybe infection of the conjunctiva of the eye and some photophobia
Chills
Nausea
Vomiting
Bleeding or hemorrhage (may occur rarely).
Study suggests that most patients recover fully from chikungunya. They get better after a few days,
however sometimes joint pain can persist for a longer period after the other symptoms have
disappeared. Over 12% of patients tend to develop chronic joint symptoms.
Diagnosis of Chikungunya
Common laboratory tests like reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), virus
isolation and serological tests help diagnose chikungunya.
Reverse transcriptase- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) It is used to amplify
several chikungunya-specific genes from whole blood. Results can be determined in 1 to 2 days.
Virus isolation- The virus may be isolated from the infected persons blood during the first few days
of infection.
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) This test may confirm the presence of IgM and
IgG anti-chikungunya antibodies. This test helps to distinguish the disease from dengue fever.
In unresolved arthritis that does not respond to aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAID), Chloroquine Phosphate (250 mg/day) has given some promising results. Some studies have
also shown that Chloroquine has some antiviral activity against this virus. However, these are not

conclusive studies.