Chikungunya fever: essential data

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Synopsis, Diagnosis, Symptoms, Countermeasures, Properties and Uses, Terrorist Interest, IDC Codes
Chikungunya fever: essential data
Viral weapon active against humans

Safety Precautions for Chikungunya Fever Casualties

Standard Precautions defined by the 1996 CDC guidelines should be adopted for handling patients.

Mosquito control should be practiced.

Biosafety level 3 practices should be adopted for handling of samples.

Synopsis of Agent Properties
Causative organism: (Systematic name in 1997)	Chikungunya virus
Alternative names:	Buggy Creek virus
Alternative disease names:	None
ICTV Acronym	CHIKV
Properties:	Family: Togaviridae Genus: Alphavirus A positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus. Click here for a detailed description of Alphaviruses
Vector involvement:	The disease is spread by culicine mosquitoes.

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Key Diagnostic Tests.

Sudden severe headache, chills, fever, joint and muscle pain are the commonest symptoms.

Detection of antigens or antibody to the agent in the blood (serology)
ELISA is available
An IgM capture ELISA is necessary to distinguish the disease from dengue fever.

Differential Diagnosis Other disease or conditions that need to be eliminated
Other infectious diseases	Other problems
Dengue fever	None

Return to Top Symptoms and effects.

After an incubation period of 3-12 days there is a sudden onset of flu-like symptoms including a severe headache, chills, fever (>40°C,104°F), joint pain, nausea and vomiting. The joints of the extermities in particular become swollen and painful to the touch. A rash may sometimes occur. Hemorrhage is rare and all but a few patients recover within 3-5 days. Some can suffer for joint pain for months. Children may display neurological symptoms.

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Medical and Physical Countermeasures.

Vaccination (Immunoprophylaxis)

A vaccine is not available.

Specific Therapy

No specific therapies are available.

Supportive care

Symptoms are treated, e.g. with analgesics and anticonvulsants.

Decontamination The virus is killed by common disinfectants, moist heat and drying. The vector (a mosquito) also needs to be controlled with insecticides.

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Agent Properties and Potential Uses

Chikungunya virus is highly infective and disabling but is not transmissible between people. It would most likely be dispensed as an aerosol or by the release of infected mosquitos. The disabling joint pain and fever, the lack of a suitable animal reservoir in Western countries and its lack of lethality make it a very "clean" weapon that could be used against key civilian installations. The name comes from the Swahili for "that which bends up" that is a reference to the positions that victims take to relieve the joint pain.

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Terrorist Acquisition and Attempted Use.

None confirmed.

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**International Classification of Disease Codes for Chikungunya Fever**
Disease	ICD-9-CM	ICD-10
Other arthropod- borne viral diseases	066	A93
Other mosquito- borne viral diseases	066.3	A92
Chikungunya fever		A92.0

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