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A new international pandemic of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) disease began on Indian Ocean islands in 2004, and a 2005–2006 outbreak on La Réunion Island affected about 300,000 people. Researchers now report retrospectively on CHIKV-associated encephalitis at that island's largest hospital.
From CHIKV RNA or anti-CHIKV immunoglobulin M in cerebrospinal fluid, central nervous system infection was identified in 57 patients; 24 had CHIKV-associated encephalitis (overall incidence, 8.6 per 100,000 persons). In a U-shaped distribution, children younger than 1 year and adults age 65 or older had the highest incidence of CHIKV-associated encephalitis.
During prospective follow-up, the overall case fatality rate for CHIKV-associated encephalitis was 16.…