Chikungunya on Three Continents

Chikungunya fever is associated with high levels of viremia and can produce severe disease; attack rates have soared in many tropical areas.

Chikungunya virus, a mosquito-borne alphavirus, continues to spread, most recently causing explosive outbreaks in Asia. Three investigations characterize outbreaks and provide useful data about clinical course and diagnosis.

In 2006, nearly 1.4 million cases of chikungunya fever — but no deaths directly attributable to the disease — were reported by the government in India. Mavalankar and colleagues analyzed monthly mortality rates for 2002–2005 in Ahmedabad, India (population 3.8 million), and compared them with mortality rates for 2006. The chikungunya epidemic peaked in August and September 2006, when 55,593 cases (91.5% of the total) were reported. The number of deaths reported for August through November 2006 exceeded the average number…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine