This article is being written with a real time possibility that chikungunya fever is on the rise in Manila. It is a virus, the CHICV, that is also acquired from a mosquito bite (same mosquito as the dengue - Aedes aegypti and some other species).
This viral infection has also been described as the "neglected" infection since its course is more benign and has not hugged the lime light of public health concerns, as say, dengue. There has been NO reported deaths from it since its first isolation in Tanzania in 1953, but the arthritis associated with it can be debilitating. The term chikungunya is from a Bantu (African) language, which means to "fold up." This is thought to refer to the patient's stooped posture due to joint pains and generalized body aches. This fever is unique since it makes its appearances in many African, Southeast Asian and even temperate countries like Italy, where it had been reported, then disappears for decades at length, then is back.
Again, i reiterate that its course is benign.
There is a possibility that in the Philippines where dengue is endemic, fever and rash and general body aches associated with most viral infections could miss the "chick." Since its course is benign, identification of this fever can spare many a hospitals' resources on intravenous fluids which is the main supportive treatment for dengue at this current time. Still, any infection for that matter needs increased fluid intake, and if it's the "chick", drinking water may suffice. If there is headache and vomiting, then intravenous fluids become necessary.
Your internist, infectious disease specialist and your rheumatologist can help. Please seek any of these specialists. Testing can be done if the illness is 7 days or less in the NIH of UP Manila, and if more than 7 days, testing is in RITM in Alabang.
Ref:
1. Alladi Mohan, DHN Kiran, I Chiranjeevi Manohar, and D Prabath Kumar. Epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of Chickungunya fever: Lessons learned from the re-emerging epidemic. J Dermatol. 2010 Jan-Mrch; 55(1): 54-63. doi: 10.4103/0019-5154.60355
PMCID: PMC2856377
2. Dieudonné Nkoghe, Roland Fabrice Kassa, Mélanie Caron, Gilda Grard, Illich Mombo, Branly Bikié,Christophe Paupy,Pierre Becquart, Ulrich Bisvigou, and Eric Maurice Leroy. Clinical Forms of Chikungunya in Gabon, 2010. Negl Trop Dis. 2012 February; 6(2): e1517.
Updates are upcoming, and we are collecting data on this interesting cause of arthritis.
This viral infection has also been described as the "neglected" infection since its course is more benign and has not hugged the lime light of public health concerns, as say, dengue. There has been NO reported deaths from it since its first isolation in Tanzania in 1953, but the arthritis associated with it can be debilitating. The term chikungunya is from a Bantu (African) language, which means to "fold up." This is thought to refer to the patient's stooped posture due to joint pains and generalized body aches. This fever is unique since it makes its appearances in many African, Southeast Asian and even temperate countries like Italy, where it had been reported, then disappears for decades at length, then is back.
Again, i reiterate that its course is benign.
There is a possibility that in the Philippines where dengue is endemic, fever and rash and general body aches associated with most viral infections could miss the "chick." Since its course is benign, identification of this fever can spare many a hospitals' resources on intravenous fluids which is the main supportive treatment for dengue at this current time. Still, any infection for that matter needs increased fluid intake, and if it's the "chick", drinking water may suffice. If there is headache and vomiting, then intravenous fluids become necessary.
Your internist, infectious disease specialist and your rheumatologist can help. Please seek any of these specialists. Testing can be done if the illness is 7 days or less in the NIH of UP Manila, and if more than 7 days, testing is in RITM in Alabang.
Ref:
1. Alladi Mohan, DHN Kiran, I Chiranjeevi Manohar, and D Prabath Kumar. Epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of Chickungunya fever: Lessons learned from the re-emerging epidemic. J Dermatol. 2010 Jan-Mrch; 55(1): 54-63. doi: 10.4103/0019-5154.60355
PMCID: PMC2856377
2. Dieudonné Nkoghe, Roland Fabrice Kassa, Mélanie Caron, Gilda Grard, Illich Mombo, Branly Bikié,Christophe Paupy,Pierre Becquart, Ulrich Bisvigou, and Eric Maurice Leroy. Clinical Forms of Chikungunya in Gabon, 2010. Negl Trop Dis. 2012 February; 6(2): e1517.
Published online 2012 February 14doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001517
PMCID: PMC3279511
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| with permission from my daughter who came down with fever, arthritis and rash, and is being tested for the "chick" |
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