National Institute of Virology, 130/1, Sus Road, Pashan, Pune-411 021, India.
Abstracts of the papers presented at the XVIII National Conference of Indian Virological Society at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India, December 11–13, 2008.
Re-emergence of Chikungunya (CHIK) in epidemic form has affected several countries from Indian Ocean islands and India. In addition to the predominant classical presentation, several complications of the infection have been recorded. Both host and viral factors play crucial roles in modulating the course of an infection. This study deals with the viral factors. To examine if the neurological complications of CHIK could be correlated with specific mutations in the viral genome. Full genomes of CHIK viruses from 5 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-derived isolates, one CSF and ∼8.5 Kb genome from the other CSF were amplified, sequenced and compared with the sequences derived from viruses isolated from the classical cases. No specific mutations differentiating the two forms of the disease could be identified. The neurological complications of CHIK infection are not related to the specific mutations in the viral genome and in-depth studies in relation to the host factors need to be undertaken on priority.
