Chikungunya: a potentially emerging epidemic?
Chikungunya virus is a mosquito-borne emerging pathogen that has a major health impact in humans and causes fever disease, headache, rash, nausea, vomiting, myalgia, and arthralgia. Indigenous to tropical Africa, recent large outbreaks have been reported in parts of South East Asia and several of its neighboring islands in 2005-07 and in Europe in 2007. Furthermore, positive cases have been confirmed in the United States in travelers returning from known outbreak areas. Currently, there is no vaccine or antiviral treatment. With the threat of an emerging global pandemic, the peculiar problems associated with the more immediate and seasonal epidemics warrant the development of an effective vaccine. In this review, we summarize the evidence supporting these concepts.
Thiboutot
Michelle M
MM
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Kannan
Senthil
S
Kawalekar
Omkar U
OU
Shedlock
Devon J
DJ
Khan
Amir S
AS
Sarangan
Gopalsamy
G
Srikanth
Padma
P
Weiner
David B
DB
Muthumani
Karuppiah
K
D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D018354:Alphavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology*; D001210:Asia, Southeastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D002646:Chikungunya virus / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology*; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D014195:Travel; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000276:immunology
D014765:Viral Vaccines