title: Chikungunya risk for Brazil.
abstract: This study aimed to show, based on the literature on the subject, the potential for dispersal and establishment of the chikungunya virus in Brazil. The chikungunya virus, a Togaviridae member of the genusAlphavirus, reached the Americas in 2013 and, the following year, more than a million cases were reported. In Brazil, indigenous transmission was registered in Amapa and Bahia States, even during the period of low rainfall, exposing the whole country to the risk of virus spreading. Brazil is historically infested by Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus, also dengue vectors. Chikungunya may spread, and it is important to take measures to prevent the virus from becoming endemic in the country. Adequate care for patients with chikungunya fever requires training general practitioners, rheumatologists, nurses, and experts in laboratory diagnosis. Up to November 2014, more than 1,000 cases of the virus were reported in Brazil. There is a need for experimental studies in animal models to understand the dynamics of infection and the pathogenesis as well as to identify pathophysiological mechanisms that may contribute to identifying effective drugs against the virus. Clinical trials are needed to identify the causal relationship between the virus and serious injuries observed in different organs and joints. In the absence of vaccines or effective drugs against the virus, currently the only way to prevent the disease is vector control, which will also reduce the number of cases of dengue fever.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Belém, PA, BR.
authors.forename: Raimunda do Socorro da Silva
authors.initials: Rdo S
authors.lastname: Azevedo
authors.affiliation: Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Belém, PA, BR.
authors.forename: Consuelo Silva
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Belém, PA, BR.
authors.forename: Pedro Fernando da Costa
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000145:classification*; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D065632:Chikungunya Fever / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D002646:Chikungunya virus; D018563:Disease Notification; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification*; D012307:Risk Factors