COVID-19 isn’t the only viral infection on the rise across the globe, so is chikungunya, which can cause arthritis-like symptoms and may lead to long-term joint pain.
Chikungunya Virus Vaccine Shows Promise in Early Clinical Trial
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A new chikungunya virus-like-particle vaccine appears to be safe and immunogenic, according to results from a phase 2 trial. “The phase 2 safety, tolerability and immunogenicity were similar to the data seen in an earlier phase 1 study,” Grace L. Chen, MD, of the National Institutes of Health Vaccine Research Center, Bethesda,…
Mosquito-Borne Chikungunya Virus Can Cause Long-Term Arthritis
Chikungunya is among a group of 16 diseases transmitted through mosquito, tick or flea bites that is of increasing public health concern in the U.S. Although few rheumatologists are likely to diagnose patients with the acute phase of the disease, they may encounter a handful of patients each year who complain of persistent, and often…
Chikungunya Fever May Trigger Chronic Articular Symptoms
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—More than half of those infected by the mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus will go on to experience chronic articular pain or arthritis, according to Brazilian researchers. Chikungunya—meaning “to become contorted” in the Makonde language—was first described during an outbreak in Africa in the 1950s. Many outbreaks have since occurred in Africa, Asia and…
Chikungunya Arthritis
In this review, the authors address the key pathophysiologic mechanisms that drive acute and chronic chikungunya arthritis, arguably the most incapacitating sequela among long-lasting chikungunya virus disease manifestations, based on recent animal experimental disease models and epidemiologic studies. They explore the latest findings in therapeutic development aimed at limiting viral spread and at immune and…
Experimental Drug Combination Curbs Chikungunya Arthritis in Mice
Doctors have had few options to treat the chronic rheumatoid arthritis-like symptoms associated with chikungunya virus infections beyond over-the-counter pain relievers. A recent study in Science Translational Medicine has spurred new optimism by finding that a combination therapy—the anti-rheumatic drug abatacept paired with a chikungunya-neutralizing monoclonal antibody—abolished acute symptoms in infected mice.1 The strategy must…
Why Rheumatologists Should Care about Zika: How It’s Transmitted & Spreading in the U.S.
Rheumatologists are already familiar with one mosquito-borne virus, chikungunya, whose presentation mimics arthritis. Now, with its recent spread to Puerto Rico and the Southeastern U.S., Zika, another mosquito-borne virus, has become an international public health concern. Sexual transmission of the virus was recently confirmed, expanding the virus’s threat…
Cytokine Response Provides Clues to Chikungunya Sequelae
Study identifies elevated cytokines in early and extended, symptomatic phases of disease
Chikungunya: What Every Rheumatologist Needs to Know
How to spot, diagnose and treat this rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral illness whose symptoms mimic arthritis