Chikungunya fever.

摘要

In today's Lancet, Patrick Bodenmann and Blaise Genton1 report a traveller who spent time in Mauritius, had several mosquito bites during the trip, and developed chikungunya fever. In southeast Asia, this virus causes large outbreaks and virtually disappears for long periods, probably as asymptomatic cases. The natural cycle of the virus is human-mosquito-human and in west Africa the epizootic cycle involves monkeys.Several species of Aedes mosquitoes are associated with chikungunya fever, but A aegypti and A albopictus are the two most important vectors in human beings.The manifestations in Bodenmann and Genton's patient are common features of chikungunya fever; the patient developed a rash on the third day, her high temperature subsided 6 days after onset of symptoms, and she had diffuse arthralgia on both hands. Arthralgia can persist for a few days to many weeks.Since late 2004, there has been a large outbreak of chikungunya fever in countries nearthe Indian Ocean.34 Diagnosis is usually made by IgM-capture ELISA. However, PCR is useful for diagnosis with acute samples. Treatment is largely symptomatic, as in Bodenmann and Genton's case.