title: Updates on chikungunya epidemiology, clinical disease, and diagnostics.
abstract: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an Aedes-borne alphavirus, historically found in Africa and Asia, where it caused sporadic outbreaks. In 2004, CHIKV reemerged in East Africa and spread globally to cause epidemics, including, for the first time, autochthonous transmission in Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania. The epidemic strains were of the East/Central/South African genotype. Strains of the Asian genotype of CHIKV continued to cause outbreaks in Asia and spread to Oceania and, in 2013, to the Americas. Acute disease, mainly comprising fever, rash, and arthralgia, was previously regarded as self-limiting; however, there is growing evidence of severe but rare manifestations, such as neurological disease. Furthermore, CHIKV appears to cause a significant burden of long-term morbidity due to persistent arthralgia. Diagnostic assays have advanced greatly in recent years, although there remains a need for simple, accurate, and affordable tests for the developing countries where CHIKV is most prevalent. This review focuses on recent important work on the epidemiology, clinical disease and diagnostics of CHIKV.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .
authors.forename: I-Ching
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Sam
authors.forename: Beate M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Kümmerer
authors.forename: Yoke-Fun
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Roques
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Drosten
authors.forename: Sazaly
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: AbuBakar
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000821:virology*; D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D065632:Chikungunya Fever / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002646:Chikungunya virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000821:virology*; D008877:Middle East / Q000453:epidemiology; D015047:Zoonoses
keywords: Arthralgia; Chikungunya; Epidemiology; Genotype; Molecular diagnostics; Serologic tests; Signs and symptoms