Abstract

Background: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an emerging viral infection, has become a serious health problem in recent years. It has been frequently reported in the Indian subcontinent in the past few years. Reemergence of the other arboviral hemorrhagic fever has made diagnostic dilemma for clinicians. The prognosis of the disease is generally good; though some patients develop chronic arthritis and neurological involvement have been reported.

Objective: To study the epidemiological and clinical profile of CHIKV infection.

Materials and Methods: Study comprises total 1296 patients presented with clinical suspicion of Chikungunya from September to December 2016. Confirmation of cases was carried out by detection of viral RNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Result: Of 1296 suspected cases, 845 (65.2%) cases were positive for CHIKV RNA, detected by RT-PCR assay. Majority of the confirmed cases were of age group 50–59 years. Male:female positivity ratio was 1.33:1. The most common clinical features were fever with joint pain and rash. Of 34 suspected cases with neurological involvement, 14 cases (41.17%) were confirmed positive by RT-PCR in cerebrospinal fluid specimen.

Conclusion: Early diagnosis and monitoring of CHIKV infection is an important component of disease management. Viral RNA detection by RT-PCR gives a positive confirmatory result in the acute phase (first 7 days) of the disease. RT-PCR is rapid, specific, and sensitive method of choice for the early detection and confirmation of virus in clinical samples.

Key words: Chikungunya Virus Infection; Viral RNA detection; Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction, Rapid, Specific, Sensitive