Chikungunya virus-associated death in Malaysia.
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus which causes fever, rash, and arthralgia. In the past, life-threatening complications were very rarely reported. However, during the recent worldwide outbreaks, there have been several reports of unusually severe complications and deaths. Malaysia is experiencing a nationwide outbreak of CHIKV, with over 10 000 patients affected since April 2008. We report the first case of culture-confirmed CHIKV-associated death in Malaysia, in a patient with fever, rash, acute exacerbation of pre-existing heart failure, rhabdomyolysis, and multiple organ failure. CHIKV infections may cause atypical, severe or fatal presentations.
Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre, Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia. jicsam@um.edu.my
I C
IC
Sam
A
A
Kamarulzaman
G S Y
GS
Ong
R S
RS
Veriah
S
S
Ponnampalavanar
Y F
YF
Chan
S
S
AbuBakar
D018354:Alphavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D065632:Chikungunya Fever; D002646:Chikungunya virus / Q000235:genetics; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010802:Phylogeny