OUTBREAK OF CHIKUNGUNYA VIRUS IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN

Authors

  • Haafsa Arshad Sahibzada Department of Oral Surgery, Islamabad Dental Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • Zohaib Khurshid Department of Dental Biomaterials, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
  • Rabia Sannam Khan Department of Oral Biology, Baqai Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Sohail Zafar Assistant Professor, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al Madina Al Munawara P.O. Box. 2898, Zip Code: 41311. Saudi Arabia http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5157-7067
  • Khalid Mahmood Siddiqi Department of Restorative Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Madinah Munawwarah Saudi Arabia

Abstract

In this report, aim is to highlight the recent outbreak of Chikungunya virus in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan. Chikungunya virus is transmitted by infected Aedes mosquitoes. Firstly, described as an outbreak in southern Tanzania in 1952 and later spread in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Pacific and Indian Oceans. In late 2016, the virus has been reported to cause severe morbidity and fatality among patients reporting to the local government hospital in Malir region of Karachi. Patients came to emergency ward with complaints of fever, skin rashes, fatigue and joint pain. To improve the existing knowledge and current epidemic in this area we reported the causes, sign & symptoms, precautions and treatment measures for the control from this virus spreading in mass gatherings. In addition, self-awareness, preventive measures implementation by public health officials in response to reports of Chikungunya virus will help to evaluate the outbreak settings.Keywords: Chikungunya virus; fever; skin rashes; joint pain; headache

Author Biographies

Haafsa Arshad Sahibzada, Department of Oral Surgery, Islamabad Dental Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan

Department of Oral Surgery, Islamabad Dental Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan

Zohaib Khurshid, Department of Dental Biomaterials, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

Department of Dental Biomaterials, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

Rabia Sannam Khan, Department of Oral Biology, Baqai Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan

Department of Oral Biology, Baqai Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan

Muhammad Sohail Zafar, Assistant Professor, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al Madina Al Munawara P.O. Box. 2898, Zip Code: 41311. Saudi Arabia

Assistant Professor, Department of restorative dentistry,

Khalid Mahmood Siddiqi, Department of Restorative Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Madinah Munawwarah Saudi Arabia

Department of Restorative Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Madinah Munawwarah Saudi Arabia

References

Powers AM, Logue CH. Changing patterns of chikungunya virus: re-emergence of a zoonotic arbovirus. J Gen Virol 2007;88(Pt 9):2363–77.

Das T, Jaffar-Bandjee MC, Hoarau JJ, Krejbich Trotot P, Denizot M, Lee-Pat-Yuen G, et al. Chikungunya fever: CNS infection and pathologies of a re-emerging arbovirus. Prog Neurobiol 2010;91(2):121–9.

Burt FJ, Rolph MS, Rulli NE, Mahalingam S, Heise MT. Chikungunya: a re-emerging virus. Lancet 2012;379(9816):662–71.

Dubrulle M, Mousson L, Moutailler S, Vazeille M, Failloux AB. Chikungunya virus and Aedes mosquitoes: saliva is infectious as soon as two days after oral infection. PloS One 2009;4(6):e5895.

Thiberville SD, Moyen N, Dupuis-Maguiraga L, Nougairede A, Gould EA, Roques P, et al. Chikungunya fever: epidemiology, clinical syndrome, pathogenesis and therapy. Antiviral Res 2013;99(3):345–70.

Ap Y, Nazni W, Azleen ZN, Vythilingam I, Noorazian M, Azahari A, et al. The first isolation of chikungunya virus from non-human primates in Malaysia. J Gen Mol Virol 2009;1(3):035–9.

Weaver SC, Lecuit M. Chikungunya virus and the global spread of a mosquito-borne disease. N Engl J Med 2015;372(13):1231–9.

Darwish MA, Hoogstraal H, Roberts TJ, Ahmed IP, Omar F. A sero-epidemiological survey for certain arboviruses (Togaviridae) in Pakistan. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1983;77(4):442–5.

Krutikov M, Manson J. Chikungunya Virus Infection: An Update on Joint Manifestations and Management. Rambam Maimonides Med J 2016;7(4):10260.

WHO. Guidelines for prevention & control of Chikungunya Fever. South-East Asia: World Health Organization; 2009.

Liumbruno GM, Calteri D, Petropulacos K, Mattivi A, Po C, Macini P, et al. The Chikungunya epidemic in Italy and its repercussion on the blood system. Blood Transfus 2008;6(4):199–210.

Economopoulou A, Dominguez M, Helynck B, Sissoko D, Wichmann O, Quenel P, et al. Atypical Chikungunya virus infections: clinical manifestations, mortality and risk factors for severe disease during the 2005–2006 outbreak on Reunion. Epidemiol Infect 2009;137(04):534–41.

Mohan A, Kiran DH, Manohar IC, Kumar DP. Epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of Chikungunya fever: lessons learned from the re-emerging epidemic. Indian J Dermatol 2010;55(1):54–63.

Okabayashi T, Sasaki T, Masrinoul P, Chantawat N, Yoksan S, Nitatpattana N, et al. Detection of chikungunya virus antigen by a novel rapid immunochromatographic test. J Clin Microbiol 2015;53(2):382–8.

De Lamballerie X, Boisson V, Reynier JC, Enault S, Charrel RN, Flahault A, et al. On chikungunya acute infection and chloroquine treatment. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2008;8(6):837–40.

Blaising J, Polyak SJ, Pécheur E. Arbidol as a broad-spectrum antiviral: an update. Antiviral Res 2014;107:84–94.

Abdelnabi R, Neyts J, Delang L. Antiviral strategies against Chikungunya virus. Methods Mol Biol 2016;1426:243–53.

Chang SF, Su CL, Shu PY, Yang CF, Liao TL, Cheng CH, et al. Concurrent isolation of chikungunya virus and dengue virus from a patient with coinfection resulting from a trip to Singapore. J Clin Microbiol 2010;48(12):4586–9.

Gardner J, Rudd PA, Prow NA, Belarbi E, Roques P, Larcher T, et al. Infectious chikungunya virus in the saliva of mice, monkeys and humans. PloS One 2015;10(10):e0139481.

Musso D, Teissier A, Rouault E, Teururai S, de Pina JJ, Nhan TX. Detection of chikungunya virus in saliva and urine. Virol J 2016;13(1):102.

Downloads

Published

2018-07-01