Chikungunya being confused with dengue fever
December 10, 2008 by mozziesafe
Experts started suggesting that the recent dengue fever outbreak being reported from scattered areas of the country also include cases of Chikungunya, a less severe and rarely fatal form of viral hemorrhagic fever.
“After thorough assessment of the situation, I along with my team reached a conclusion that it is predominantly Chikungunya being confused with dengue fever,” said Head of Pathology Department at Rawalpindi Medical College Dr Abbas Hayat while talking to ‘The News’ Friday.
He said that on serological examination of 40 highly suspected dengue victims, only three were found infected with dengue fever virus so it is mainly Chikungunya that has also been feared as Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in a few cases. “It resembles dengue in its transmission through Aedes Aegypti mosquito although it has also been reported to be spread by another specie Aedes Albopictus.”
He said that Chikungunya also shares with dengue the symptoms including fever, rashes and joint pain yet differs from it in sparing muscles and being less severe and rarely fatal. “Dengue fever is caused by a Flavi virus while Chikungunya is caused by alphavirus,” he said and added that in neighbourhood, Chikungunya has appeared in an epidemic form in the Indian states including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Reverse Transcriptase-PCR testing which is not currently available in local settings is used for confirmation of Chikungunya.
“On the basis of current reports and Regional studies, it is deducted that most likely it is Chikungunya which is being confused with dengue fever, so the higher authorities are requested to make arrangement for detailed studies and devise policy according to the problem,” said Dr Hayat.
He added that in recent months, many cases of suspected dengue fever in various Pakistani cities failed to be confirmed on serologic testing. “There should be a high index of suspicion for these cases to be of Chikungunya disease since the clinical presentation of the two is very similar. And serologic testing for Chikungunya virus should be performed on all cases that have a negative serology for dengue virus,” he said and added that in October 2006, more than a dozen cases of Chikungunya were reported in Pakistan.
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arbovirus, of the genus Alphavirus, which causes an illness with symptoms similar to dengue fever. CHIKV is generally spread through bites from Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes (also the vector for dengue fever) but recent research by the Pasteur Institute in Paris has suggested that Chikungunya virus strains in the 2005-2006 Reunion Island outbreak resulted in a mutation that facilitated transmission by Aedes Albopictus (Tiger mosquito), added Dr Hayat.
[...] with potentially more serious effects. There are some common signs and symptoms which leads to chikungunya being mistaken for dengue. Although both infections typically display a petechial rash (red, pin-point rash), mild cases of [...]