Profile of the Chikungunya infection: A neglected vector borne disease which is prevalent in the rajkot district

Autor(es): Bhagwati Chundawat, M Madhulika, Mehta Krunal D, Y S Goswami


Resumo: Chikungunya Virus has been responsible for significant human morbidity probably for several hundred years; yet in spite of its prevalence, the Chikungunya Virus epidemiology - the mechanisms of virulence - pathogenesis are still poorly understood - undetermined. This study was done to show that the Chikungunya infection has shown a change in its pattern of occurrence with respect to the clinical features, the gender - the age group which are predominant - the season of the outbreak. The present study was conducted to evaluate the features of the Chikugunya infection in patients with acute febrile illness from various geographical regions of Rajkot district, Gujarat, India. A cross-sectional study, multi centric study. The Chi-square test for the goodness of the fit - independence. One hundred ninty three serum samples of suspected cases of patients who attended the outdoor - indoor patients departments at a tertiary care hospital, Rajkot - the primary health centres, the community health centre - the urban health centres that were covered in the Rajkot district, which were collected during the period of one year from 1(st) January 2011 to 25(th) December 2011, were studied. The sera were processed - tested for the detection of the Chikungunya IgM antibody by using a solid phase, capture micro well ELISA technology. Out of the total 193 cases, 84 were positive for the Chikungunya IgM antibody. Out of the total 84 positive cases, 32 were males (38.09%) - 52 were females (61.9%). Female patients showed more prevalence of this disease. A majority of the patients presented with fever, headache - joint pain: 44(52.38%). The highest prevalence of Chikungunya was found in the 40-50 years age group, which occurred in 34 (40.47%) cases. In the months of November - December, the occurrence of Chikungunya was more. This study emphasizes the need for a continuous surveillance on the disease burden by using multiple diagnostic tests - it also warrants the need for appropriate molecular diagnostic techniques for an early detection of the Chikungunya virus.


Palavras-Chave: Age; Chikungunya; Clinical features; Seasonal variation; Sex correlation


Imprenta: Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, v. 7, n. 6, p. 1008-1011, 2013


Identificador do objeto digital: 10.7860/JCDR/2013/5307.3057


Descritores: Chikungunya virus - Pathogenesis ; Chikungunya virus - Molecular methods ; Chikungunya Virus - Virus ; Chikungunya virus - Chikungunya fever ; Chikungunya virus - Epidemiology


Data de publicação: 2013