title: Chikungunya virus in North-Eastern Italy: a seroprevalence survey.
abstract: After an outbreak of Chikungunya infection in Emilia-Romagna Region (North-eastern Italy), a survey was performed to estimate the seroprevalence of antibody to Chikungunya virus and the proportion of asymptomatic infections, to identify factors associated with infection, and evaluate the performance of the surveillance system. The method used was a survey on a random sample of residents of the village with the largest number of reported cases. The prevalence was 10.2% (33 of 325), being higher in older people and males, and lower when window screens and insect repellents were used. Only 18% of infected persons were fully asymptomatic, 85% of the 27 symptomatic confirmed cases satisfied the surveillance case definition, and 63% of the persons meeting the criteria for suspect case were identified by the active surveillance system. This study provides basic parameters for modeling the transmission potential of outbreaks and planning control measures for Chikungunya infection in temperate settings.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Bologna, Italy. mlmoro@regione.emilia-romagna.it
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Moro
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gagliotti
authors.forename: Giuliano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Silvi
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Angelini
authors.forename: Vittorio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sambri
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rezza
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Massimiliani
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mattivi
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grilli
authors.forename: Alba Carola
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Finarelli
authors.forename: Nadir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Spataro
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pierro
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Seyler
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Macini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018354:Alphavirus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002646:Chikungunya virus / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral