What is Chikungunya?

Chikungunya fever is caused by a virus and is transmitted by bite of Aedes aegypti mosquito which bites during the day. The symptoms of Chikungunya are similar to dengue fever. In some patients it can cause severe, occasionally persistent, joint pain (arthritis), as well as fever and rash. The infection is rarely life-threatening but it can cause substantial morbidity and economic loss. The name Chikungunya fever is from Swahili language and it means "that which bends up". It indicates the patient’s stooped posture due to joint pains. Chikungunya fever is known to occur in both sporadic outbreaks and large epidemics. The infection is found in Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.

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