title: Novel chikungunya virus variant in travelers returning from Indian Ocean islands.
abstract: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) emerged in Indian Ocean islands in 2005 and is causing an ongoing outbreak that involves >260,000 patients, including travelers returning home from these islands. We investigated cases in 4 patients returning from Mayotte and Reunion Islands with CHIKV infection and a nurse infected in metropolitan France after direct contact with the blood of a traveler. Four patients had tenosynovitis and pain at wrist pressure, and 1 had life-threatening manifestations. Four CHIKV strains were isolated, including 1 from the patient with the autochthonous case. The complete genomic sequence identified a new CHIKV variant emerging from the East/ central African evolutionary lineage. Aedes albopictus, the implicated vector of CHIKV in Indian Ocean islands, has dispersed worldwide in recent decades. High viral loads in patients returning from Indian Ocean islands to countries where Ae. albopictus is prevalent may be a source of epidemics.
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Nord, Marseilles, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parola
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: de Lamballerie
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jourdan
authors.forename: Clarisse
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rovery
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vaillant
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Minodier
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brouqui
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flahault
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
authors.forename: Rémi N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Charrel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000330:Aedes / Q000821:virology; D000368:Aged; D018354:Alphavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002646:Chikungunya virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007195:Indian Ocean Islands / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D014195:Travel