Technical guidelines for the prevention and treatment of chikungunya fever

Abstract

Chikungunya fever is an emerging disease caused by an alphavirus belonging to the Togaviridae family, transmitted by the bite of Aedes genus species: Aedesaegypti and Aedesalbopictus. In 2013, PAHO/WHO received confirmation of the first cases of indigenous transmission of chikungunya in the Americas. This disease may be acute, subacute and chronic, affecting all age groups. Following an incubation period from three to seven days, the patient usually begins with a high fever (greater than 39 °C), arthralgia, back pain, headache, nausea, vomiting, arthritis, rash, and conjunctivitis (acute phase: 3-10 days). Most patients recover fully, but in some cases, joint involvement may persist chronically and cause discapacity and affect life quality. Serious complications are rare, however, attention must be focused on vulnerable populations (the elderly, children and pregnant women). So far, there is no specific antiviral treatment or effective vaccine, so it is giving priority symptomatic and supportive treatment for the acute phase and make an early diagnosis of atypical and severe forms, and to implement effective prevention and control measures. Given the eco-epidemiological conditions and distribution of vectors in the region of the Americas, the spread of the virus to other countries is likely, so that health professionals should be aware of and identify risk factors and major clinical manifestations, allow timely prevention and safe and effective treatment of this disease.