Product Development - Chikungunya (CHIKV)/ About CHIKV In Africa, outside of major epidemics, the Chikungunya virus exists in mammalian animal reservoirs, such as primates and rodents where transmission occurs through mosquito species such as Aedes furcifer, Africanus luteocephalus and Culex quinquefasciatus. Aedes aegypti is the principle vector associated with transmission to humans in Africa.
In Asia, Chikungunya mainly exists in human reservoirs through infection by the common urban mosquito, Aedes aegypt i, although primates may also represent a significant animal reservoir for the virus. In India and countries of the Indian Ocean, Aedes albopictus is the major vector, although this mosquito vector is increasingly common in Europe and North America. With a significant number of infected individuals returning from endemic areas, the conditions exist for Chikungunya to emerge as a new infectious disease threat to the Western world.
Chikungunya virus is an arbovirus causing acute illness including fever, rash, and incapacitating arthralgia. Recent explosive outbreaks of Chikungunya in islands in the Indian Ocean and India resulted in >1.5 million cases. |
This underlined the re-emergence of Chikungunya as a global threat. Since its isolation in Tanzania in 1953, the virus has been seen in numerous countries in Africa and South East Asia. Between 2004 and 2007 CHIKV reached new geographical areas with cases reported in Europe, United States, Canada, Australia, Hong-Kong, Taiwan and Sri Lanka. Many of these cases were due to infected individuals returning from endemic regions. In 2007, an outbreak of Chikungunya in excess of 250 cases, was reported in Italy. This limited outbreak was spread by a local mosquito – Aedes albopictus . Unlike Aedes aegypti , this species can survive the cooler non-tropical climates of Europe and North America. It was also recently discovered that mutations in the CHIKV have led to more efficient dissemination of the virus within ae. albopictus which has consequently enhanced the transmission of virus to humans. Governments around the globe are becoming increasingly concerned that explosive epidemics like those recently seen in India may occur with the continuing spread of the ae. albopictus vector. Useful links: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/
dvbid/chikungunya/ http://www.who.int/features/qa/63/ wiki/Chikungunya
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