Viruses, Vol. 14, Pages 969: A Review on Chikungunya Virus Epidemiology, Pathogenesis and Current Vaccine Development

Viruses, Vol. 14, Pages 969: A Review on Chikungunya Virus Epidemiology, Pathogenesis and Current Vaccine Development Viruses doi: 10.3390/v14050969 Authors: Thaise Yasmine Vasconcelos de Lima Cavalcanti Mylena Ribeiro Pereira Sergio Oliveira de Paula Rafael Freitas de Oliveira Franca Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus that recently re-emerged in many parts of the world causing large-scale outbreaks. CHIKV infection presents as a febrile illness known as chikungunya fever (CHIKF). Infection is self-limited and characterized mainly by severe joint pain and myalgia that can last for weeks or months; however, severe disease presentation can also occur in a minor proportion of infections. Among the atypical CHIKV manifestations that have been described, severe arthralgia and neurological complications, such as encephalitis, meningitis, and Guillain–Barré Syndrome, are now reported in many outbreaks. Moreover, death cases were also reported, placing CHIKV as a relevant public health disease. Virus evolution, globalization, and climate change may have contributed to CHIKV spread. In addition to this, the lack of preventive vaccines and approved antiviral treatments is turning CHIKV into a major global health threat. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge about CHIKV pathogenesis, with a focus on atypical disease manifestations, such as persistent arthralgia and neurologic disease presentation. We also bring ...
Source: Viruses - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research