1Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
2Senior Resident, Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
3Joint Director, National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India
4Professor, Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
*Corresponding author Arvind Kumar Assistant Professor Dept. of Medicine, AIIMS, New Delhi, India Email: linktoarvind@gmail.com
Online published on 2 March, 2019.
Chikungunya is an important mosquito borne arboviral disease causing periodic epidemics world over. India also faces the brunt of this disease every few years which is associated with acute as well as long term consequences. The burden of this disease has been ever increasing since the 2006 outbreak, the latest outbreak occurring in 2016. Chikungunya has been typically associated with fever, joint pains and rash but during the last few epidemics, a lot of atypical presentations of this common disease have occurred. It was thought to be a benign self-limiting disease but in the recent times, severe disease with multi-organ involvement requiring intensive care and causing mortality have been reported from India and other countries, especially in patients with co-morbid illnesses. Many patients suffer from chronic consequences of this inflammatory rheumatism lasting for years, affecting the quality of life and productivity of the affected population. This review highlights the epidemiology, the changing clinical spectrum, the available diagnostic modalities and the management of acute and chronic manifestations of this challenging infection.
Chikungunya, mosquito, fever, disease
