Clinical features and risk factors of Chikungunya fever

Objective: To study patients presenting with features suggestive of chikungunya fever in patients presenting to our institution.. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out during an outbreak of fever between June 2017 to November 2017 in patients with acute febrile illness in Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad, Pakistan. Signs and symptoms of those patients who presented with febrile illness were matched with that of chikungunya fever. Blood samples were sent for RT-PCR. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16. Results: Of the 48 participants, 24(50%) were male and 24(50%) were female. Mean age was 39.1 +/- 12.3 years (range 16-67). Moderate-high grade fever was the most common presenting complaint (97.9%), followed by body aches (37.5%), rigors (31.25%), conjunctival ecchymosis (22.9%), fatigue (22.9%) and skin rash (8.3%). A significant number (66.2%) had recently traveled to Karachi during an outbreak. No significant statistical association was found between the symptoms, age and gender of study participants (p>0.05). Conclusion: With arthropod-borne illnesses becoming increasingly common in Pakistan, a high index of suspicion should be adopted when managing patients with febrile illnesses, especially during summer and monsoon season.