Chikungunya, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

This book describes Chikungunya, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related DiseasesRecently a friend of mine was diagnosed with Chikungunya viral infection while traveling in Thailand. He is a doctor and thought that he had dengue fever which is well known in Singapore. Because Dengue fever can be dangerous with its hemorrhage episodes, he had himself admitted into a hospital in Thailand. While in the hospital his fever went up then down and recurred after a few days and a rash appeared all over his body.
He was given intravenous dextrosaline lotion containing salt, water and sugar to replenish his electrolytes and nutrients and hydration because of the high fever. The rash was more maculopapular in nature unlike the fine petechiae seen in dengue. While the rashes were developing he found that he had severe body aches and joint pain which he had never experienced before so much so that he could not even straightened his back.
He had to sleep in a crouched position. Now he was really worried because he had never experienced such joint and back pain. The doctors in Thailand gave him painkillers and muscle relaxant and took his blood for testing. He was found to have Chikungunya viral infection which was also transmitted by an Aedes mosquito bite just like Dengue. After excluding malaria, dengue and Zika viral infections all mosquito-borne diseases, he was finally discharged after the fever subsided in 10 days.
He told me that his back and joint pains of the wrists and ankles are still troubling him. However he was glad that it was not dengue which would be the most dangerous of these mosquito-borne diseases and could him to bleed in the brain. Chikungunya is an infection produced by one of a group of arboviruses (of the family Togaviridae) that is transmitted by mosquitoes (normally of the Aedes spp.). They are likely to bite during daylight.
Its name is derived from a verb from the Kimakonde language, meaning "to become contorted", indicating the involved person's stooped posture caused by joint pains. Starting in Africa, there were at first few cases documented. By 2007, the outbreak had extended to India and other parts of Asia and Southeast Asia, and parts of the Pacific region. Now it had spread even to the Carribean and Americas.
The illness normally starts with:1. Rapid start of fever and2. Joint pains. It may or may not be accompanied by these:1. Muscle pain, 2. Headache, 3. Nausea, 4. Fatigue and5. A rash (maculopapular not petechie). There is sudden onset of fever and, with it, a serious, crippling migrating, poly-articular arthritis. This most often affects ankles, wrists and hands but can form any joint. Joint pain is typically the most disabling and causes the longest period of symptom.
Diagnosis is dependent on the identification of virus or antibodies within the blood sample. The treatment mainly entails:1. Symptom relief and2. Supportive care. There is no antiviral treatment for chikungunya. Because of the high fever, plenty of fluid should be drunk. Paracetamol and ibuprofen may be given to relieve pyrexia and pain. Most patients will restore to health completely within one to two weeksSome may have chronic joint pains which may persist several yearsChikungunya virus does not cause death directly.
The presence of other co-morbidities may cause a fatal outcome. Death is thought to happen in less than 1 in 1, 000 cases. Unlike in the past when there is a mosquito bite, doctors are worried about malaria and dengue. Now there is not only Chikungunya with its joint pain. There is also Zika virus transmitted by the same mosquito but also cause micro-cephaly and malformations in infants if the mother is infected during pregnancyTABLE OF CONTENTIntroductionChapter 1 ChikungunyaChapter 2 Ca...