Chikungunya is a relatively rare form of viral fever caused by an alphavirus that is spread by mosquito bites from the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The name is derived from the African word meaning ‘that which bends up’ in reference to the stooped posture developed as a result of the arthritic symptoms of the disease. The disease was first described by Marion Robinson and W.H.R. Lumsden in 1955, following an outbreak on the Makonde Plateau, along the border between Tanganyika and Mozambique, in 1952. Chikungunya is not considered to be fatal. Chikungunya virus is highly infective and disabling but is not transmissible between people.
The virus is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on a person infected with the chikungunya virus. Monkeys, and possibly other wild animals, may also serve as reservoirs of the virus. Infected mosquitoes can then spread the virus to other humans when they bite. Sudden severe headache, chills, fever, joint and muscle pain are the commonest symptoms & Some can suffer for joint pain for months. Children may display neurological symptoms.
Analysis of the recent outbreak in India ,has suggested that the increased severity of the disease may be due to a change in the genetic sequence, altering the virus' coat protein, which potentially allows it to multiply more easily in mosquito cells.
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