Re-emergence of Chikungunya virus infection in Eastern India

Chikungunya fever is a major public health issue in India. Re-emergence of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in West Bengal was detected after 32 years in 2006. After 2010, this infection was in apparent decline, but in 2016 a massive outbreak affected the country. Present study was carried out to understand CHIKV infection dynamics during recent outbreaks in West Bengal, Eastern India and its implication on disease manifestations. Blood was collected from 641 symptomatic patients. Patients' sera were serologically diagnosed to detect presence of anti-chikungunya-IgM antibodies. Viral RNA was extracted; presence of CHIKV genome and its respective viral load was determined by real time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (real-time qRT-PCR). Statistical analysis was performed using EPI INFO software. CHIKV infection was detected in 24.64% of symptomatic patients. Middle-aged patients (31-40 years) were predominantly affected; clinically, both arthralgia and joint-swelling were significantly prevalent among CHIKV-infected patients. Myalgia, joint-swelling, and arthralgic manifestation were found in significantly higher frequency among patients with high chikungunya viral load (> 10,000 copies/ml). Thus, this study clearly indicated the re-emergence of CHIKV in Eastern India. Significant presence of myalgia, joint swelling, and arthralgia among chikungunya patients with high viral load implied association of disease severity with viral load; requiring vigilance for proper management of infected patients as this disease is highly morbid in nature. However, in addition to chikungunya virus, other viral, bacterial, and protozoal infections also occur during post-monsoon season in India, having overlapping symptoms. Hence, continuous monitoring of these infections is required for better clinical management of patients.