Chikungunya is a dangerous viral disease, frequently re-emerging in Africa, Asia, and South America. The RNA virus (the alphavirus genus of the family Togaviridae) is transmitted by infected female mosquitoes and brings about severe joint and muscle pain, fever, nausea, rash, fatigue, and headache. The symptoms may vary in intensity and duration. Although some of them can be relieved, the disease is still incurable. Its name comes from Kimakonde language and can be translated as “becoming contorted” (Weaver & Lecuit, 2015).
History of the Disease
The history of the outbreaks of chikungunya can be summed up as follows (Weaver & Lecuit, 2015).
- 1952 – the first recorded outbreak of the disease in the region of southern Tanzania.
- 1999-2000 – a two-year outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- 2005 – an outbreak in the Indian Ocean region.
- 2006-2007 – an outbreak in India, which spread to Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Maldives. 1.9 million cases were reported during the period.
- 2007 – a localized outbreak in the north-eastern region of Italy (the first reported case in Europe). 197 cases were recorded.
- 2013 – local transmission in France (the French part of St. Martin in the Caribbean region).
- 2013-2015 – first reported cases in the Americas. By 2015, more than 1.3 cases were suspected in the Unites States, Latin American countries, and the Caribbean islands; 191 deaths were attributed to the virus.
- 2014 – outbreaks in France and in the Pacific islands, American Samoa, Kiribati, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, and Marshall Islands.
- 2015 – 693,000 suspected cases (of which 38,000 were confirmed) with the biggest burden in Colombia.
- 2016-2017 – 350,000 suspected and 147,000 confirmed cases in Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Kenya, Pakistan, and Bolivia.
Disease Spread: Implications
Chikungunya continues spreading rapidly across the planet owing to globalization. If scientists do not manage to stop this tendency, the following implications are inevitable:
- The Caribbean islands and Latin America will have enormous life losses since the disease outbreaks there have continuously been reported there since 2013 (Lanciotti & Valadere, 2014).
- Since the infection is frequently misdiagnosed as dengue fever (both conditions reveal the same symptoms, including headache, joint and muscle pain, and rash), a lot of patients are at risk of receiving wrong treatment. Dengue can develop into terminal complication if mistaken for chikungunya. On the contrary, if chikungunya is diagnosed as dengue, the therapy applied may aggravate joint pain, which can persist for months (Musso & Gubler, 2015).
- The majority of the world’s population inhabits regions affected by the infection. If the disease continues spreading, 154 countries will be at risk (Weaver & Lecuit, 2015).
Prevention of the Disease
Since the most significant risk factor is the mosquito vector breeding sites, prevention relies on decreasing the number of water-filled container habitats in order to stop breeding. However, this requires rapid mobilization of the infected communities, especially during outbreaks. Insecticides must be sprayed on all surfaces and around containers. It is also advised to put on clothes that fully cover the body in order to minimize the exposure to biting. Repellents (containing IR3535, DEET or icaridin) can also be applied to clothing. Good protection can be provided by mosquito nets (Juan et al., 2015). They are strongly recommended to those who sleep during the daytime. Indoor biting can be significantly reduced by insecticide vaporizers.
Tourists traveling to risk areas should also take precautionary measures including wearing long pants and sleeves, using repellents and fitting rooms with screens.
How to Treat the Disease
Currently, there is no antiviral drug treatment that can lead to full recovery of the patient. Neither is there any commercial vaccine. That is why the major goal of the treatment is to relieve joint and muscle pain. For this, anti-pyretics, fluids, and optimal analgesics are used (Juan et al., 2015).
References
Juan, M., Bayona, B., Viloria, S., Accini, J. L., San Juan-Vergara, H., & Viasus, D. (2015). Fatal cases of Chikungunya virus infection in Colombia: Diagnostic and treatment challenges. Journal of Clinical Virology, 69(1), 27-29.
Lanciotti, R. S., & Valadere, A. M. (2014). Transcontinental movement of Asian genotype chikungunya virus. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 20(8), 1400-1402.
Musso, D., & Gubler, D. J. (2015). Zika virus: Following the path of dengue and chikungunya? The Lancet, 386(9990), 243-244.
Weaver, S. C., & Lecuit, M. (2015). Chikungunya virus and the global spread of a mosquito-borne disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 372(13), 1231-1239.