title: Chikungunya: a potentially emerging epidemic?
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Michelle M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Thiboutot
authors.forename: Senthil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kannan
authors.forename: Omkar U
authors.initials: OU
authors.lastname: Kawalekar
authors.forename: Devon J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Shedlock
authors.forename: Amir S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Gopalsamy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sarangan
authors.forename: Padma
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Srikanth
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Weiner
authors.forename: Karuppiah
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Muthumani
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D014765:Viral Vaccines