Commentary on CHIKUNGUNYA FEVER’s Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

• About

  

• appointment

  

Chikungunya is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes. Symptoms of chikungunya are characterized by sudden high fever and muscle pain, which usually affects the wrists and feet, as well as small joints. Chikungunya is associated with repeated outbreaks in most tropical countries, including Indonesia.
Chikungunya transmission occurs when a mosquito bites a person infected with chikungunya, then carries the virus and spreads it to others through bites.
Chikungunya can happen to anyone. In fact, someone over the age of 65, a newborn baby, or someone with certain diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease have a higher risk of contracting chikungunya.

Chikungunya, dengue, and Zika are all viral diseases spread primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. These mosquitoes, particularly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, thrive in urban areas and bite during the day. They breed in standing water found in containers like flowerpots and discarded tires. Chikungunya and dengue have similar distribution patterns in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, while Zika gained global attention for its association with birth defects. Effective control measures targeting these mosquito vectors are crucial to prevent the spread of these diseases.

Chikungunya fever is characterized by a sudden onset of symptoms including high fever with an incubation period of 3–7 days Fever is followed by severe joint pain after 2–5 days. The symptoms that occur are very disturbing to patients especially in wrists and ankles, muscle pain, headache, and fatigue. A maculopapular rash may appear a few days after fever onset. Other possible symptoms include nausea, vomiting, red eyes, and mild bleeding. While rarely fatal, the joint pain can persist long-term. Early medical care helps manage symptoms and prevent complications.

Chikungunya management is generally supportive and symptomatic, as there is no specific antiviral for the disease. It involves rehydration, vital signs monitoring, and symptomatic therapy like paracetamol for pain or fever. Pharmacological management involves paracetamol for fever and pain, but NSAIDs should be avoided in the first 14 days due to complications.

Non-pharmacological management at home includes getting enough rest at room temperature, avoiding humid environments, avoiding too tiring physical activities, light exercise and physiotherapy, cold compresses, and maintaining hydration status.

There is currently no vaccine available for chikungunya. Various vaccine methods are still being researched, including live attenuated chikungunya viral (LAV) strains, chimeric viral vectors, inactivated virions or virus-like particles (VLP), subunit vaccines, and DNA plasmids.

Each method has shown efficacy in animal models, and some have produced immunogenic effects in humans. However, all vaccine methods are still in clinical trials to date.

Chikungunya fever, dengue fever, and Zika virus are all mosquito-borne illnesses transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. Chikungunya fever is characterized by sudden onset of high fever, severe joint pain, and fatigue, often with persistent joint symptoms. Dengue fever presents with high fever, severe headache, joint and muscle pain, and can progress to severe forms with bleeding and organ dysfunction. Zika virus typically causes mild symptoms such as fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis, but is linked to severe complications like Guillain-Barré syndrome and birth defects. Prevention focuses on mosquito control and avoiding bites, as there are no specific antiviral treatments or vaccines widely available for these diseases.

Natesan SK. Chikungunya Virus. Medscape. 2022. https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/2225687-overview
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chikungunya. CDC. 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/hc/index.html
Ojeda Rodriguez JA, Haftel A, Walker, III JR. Chikungunya Fever. StatPearls Publishing. 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534224/
Vairo F, Haider N, Kock R, Ntoumi F, Ippolito G, Zumla A. Chikungunya: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Clinical Features, Management, and Prevention. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2019 Dec;33(4):1003-1025. doi: 10.1016/j.idc.2019.08.006.
DeFilippis VR. Chikungunya Virus Vaccines: Platforms, Progress, and Challenges. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2022;435:81-106. doi: 10.1007/82_2019_175.