title: Chikungunya virus: recent advances in epidemiology, host pathogen interaction and vaccine strategies.
abstract: The Chikungunya virus is a re-emerging alphavirus that belongs to the family Togaviridae. The symptoms include fever, rashes, nausea and joint pain that may last for months. The laboratory diagnosis of the infection is based on the serologic assays, virus isolation and molecular methods. The pathogenesis of the Chikungunya viral infection is not completely understood. Some of the recent investigations have provided information on replication of the virus in various cells and organs. In addition, some recent reports have indicated that the severity of the disease is correlated with the viral load and cytokines. The Chikungunya virus infection re-emerged as an explosive epidemic during 2004-09 affecting millions of people in the Indian Ocean. Subsequent global attention was given to research on this viral pathogen due to its broad area of geographical distribution during this epidemic. Chikungunya viral infection has become a challenge for the public health system because of the absence of a vaccine as well as antiviral drugs. A number of potential vaccine candidates have been tested on humans and animal models during clinical and preclinical trials. In this review, we mainly discuss the host-pathogen relationship, epidemiology and recent advances in the development of drugs and vaccines for the Chikungunya viral infection.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India.
authors.forename: Farah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Deeba
authors.affiliation: Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India.
authors.forename: Asimul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.affiliation: Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India.
authors.forename: Syed Naqui
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Kazim
authors.affiliation: Dr. M. A. Ansari Health Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India.
authors.forename: Irshad Hussain
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Naqvi
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, SGT University, Gurgaon 122001, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Shobha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Broor
authors.affiliation: Protein Research Chair, Department of Biochemistry, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Anwar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India shamp25@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Shama
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parveen
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D065632:Chikungunya Fever / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002646:Chikungunya virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D016679:Genome, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016207:Cytokines; D014765:Viral Vaccines
keywords: Chikungunya virus; disease dissemination; host–pathogen interactions