Chikungunya: From Hypothesis to Evidence of Increased Severe Disease and Fatalities
Chikungunya virus infection often manifests as an acute, self-limiting febrile illness, with arthralgia and musculoskeletal symptoms being the most commonly reported. Arthralgia can persist for months or even years, and approximately 50% of cases progress to chronic conditions. However, recent outbr...
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2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/1/62 |
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| author | Carlos Brito Melissa Barreto Falcão Maria de Fatima Pessoa Militão de Albuquerque Thiago Cerqueira-Silva Maria Glória Teixeira Rafael Freitas de Oliveira Franca |
| author_facet | Carlos Brito Melissa Barreto Falcão Maria de Fatima Pessoa Militão de Albuquerque Thiago Cerqueira-Silva Maria Glória Teixeira Rafael Freitas de Oliveira Franca |
| author_sort | Carlos Brito |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Chikungunya virus infection often manifests as an acute, self-limiting febrile illness, with arthralgia and musculoskeletal symptoms being the most commonly reported. Arthralgia can persist for months or even years, and approximately 50% of cases progress to chronic conditions. However, recent outbreaks have revealed a rising number of severe cases and fatalities. This review examines evidence from the past decade that suggests a higher incidence of severe chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infections and increased mortality rates, challenging official reports and guidelines from many countries. The literature review includes case reports, series, and studies with comparison groups to assess whether CHIKV-related mortality is underreported. Evaluating excess mortality involves analyzing consistent findings across different regions, biological plausibility, and systemic manifestations that contribute to severe outcomes. These findings aim to expand disease classifications in international guidelines and raise awareness among healthcare professionals to better identify severe CHIKV cases and related deaths. Studies were identified through PubMed using the search terms “chikungunya”, “death”, “severe”, “pathogenesis”, and “pathophysiology”. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5c7a4813b37b417293acaf088b61294e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj-art-5c7a4813b37b417293acaf088b61294e2025-01-24T13:52:27ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152025-01-011716210.3390/v17010062Chikungunya: From Hypothesis to Evidence of Increased Severe Disease and FatalitiesCarlos Brito0Melissa Barreto Falcão1Maria de Fatima Pessoa Militão de Albuquerque2Thiago Cerqueira-Silva3Maria Glória Teixeira4Rafael Freitas de Oliveira Franca5Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Tropical, Centro de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50740-465, BrazilUniversidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (UEFS), Feira de Santana 44036-900, BrazilInstituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife 50740-465, BrazilLaboratório de Medicina e Saúde Pública de Precisão, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador 40296-710, BrazilInstituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Salvador 40026-010, BrazilFundação Oswaldo Cruz—Fiocruz São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14049-900, BrazilChikungunya virus infection often manifests as an acute, self-limiting febrile illness, with arthralgia and musculoskeletal symptoms being the most commonly reported. Arthralgia can persist for months or even years, and approximately 50% of cases progress to chronic conditions. However, recent outbreaks have revealed a rising number of severe cases and fatalities. This review examines evidence from the past decade that suggests a higher incidence of severe chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infections and increased mortality rates, challenging official reports and guidelines from many countries. The literature review includes case reports, series, and studies with comparison groups to assess whether CHIKV-related mortality is underreported. Evaluating excess mortality involves analyzing consistent findings across different regions, biological plausibility, and systemic manifestations that contribute to severe outcomes. These findings aim to expand disease classifications in international guidelines and raise awareness among healthcare professionals to better identify severe CHIKV cases and related deaths. Studies were identified through PubMed using the search terms “chikungunya”, “death”, “severe”, “pathogenesis”, and “pathophysiology”.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/1/62chikungunyasevere diseasemortalityepidemiology |
| spellingShingle | Carlos Brito Melissa Barreto Falcão Maria de Fatima Pessoa Militão de Albuquerque Thiago Cerqueira-Silva Maria Glória Teixeira Rafael Freitas de Oliveira Franca Chikungunya: From Hypothesis to Evidence of Increased Severe Disease and Fatalities Viruses chikungunya severe disease mortality epidemiology |
| title | Chikungunya: From Hypothesis to Evidence of Increased Severe Disease and Fatalities |
| title_full | Chikungunya: From Hypothesis to Evidence of Increased Severe Disease and Fatalities |
| title_fullStr | Chikungunya: From Hypothesis to Evidence of Increased Severe Disease and Fatalities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Chikungunya: From Hypothesis to Evidence of Increased Severe Disease and Fatalities |
| title_short | Chikungunya: From Hypothesis to Evidence of Increased Severe Disease and Fatalities |
| title_sort | chikungunya from hypothesis to evidence of increased severe disease and fatalities |
| topic | chikungunya severe disease mortality epidemiology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/1/62 |
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