> - The name *chikungunya* derives from a word in the Kimakonde language, meaning “to become contorted”. > - The majority (80%) of those infected will be symptomatic. > - Chikungunya should be suspected patients with recent travel to endemic regions and presenting with **high fever** and **polyarthralgia**. > - can be confused with [[Dengue]] and [[Zika]] See: [The conversation: Chikungunya](https://theconversation.com/what-is-chikungunya-virus-and-should-we-be-worried-about-it-in-australia-261847) **vector** : Aedes mosquitoes **bug**: viral disease caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an RNA virus in the alphavirus genus of the family Togaviridae **region**: Africa, Asia, and the Americas **DDx**: [[Dengue]], [[Zika]] **symptoms** - *fever* and *severe joint pain*, which is often debilitating and varies in duration - other symptoms include joint swelling, muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash **diagnosis** Chikungunya virus may be detected directly in blood samples collected during the first week of illness using tests such as reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR). Other tests can detect a person’s immune response to chikungunya virus infection. These are typically used after the first week of infection to test for antibodies to the virus. The antibody levels are typically detectable by the first week after illness onset and can still be detected for about 2 months. **prevention** - *no vaccine* **treatment** *no specific treatment* **prognosis** Most patients recover fully from the infection; however, occasional cases of eye, heart, and neurological complications have been reported with CHIKV infections. Patients at extremes of the age spectrum are at higher risk for severe disease. Newborns infected during delivery and older people with underlying medical conditions may become severely ill and CHIKV infection can increase the risk of death. Once an individual is recovered, available evidence suggests they are likely to be immune from future infections