Reviewed by medical experts • For informational purposes only
Aedes mosquito-borne viral fever with abrupt high fever and severe joint pain - no specific cure, usually full recovery.
Chikungunya is a viral fever spread by day-biting mosquitoes, famous for one thing above all: joint pain severe enough to bend people double - which is what its name means in the Kimakonde language of East Africa. Most patients recover fully in weeks; for some, the joint pain lingers for months.
The chikungunya virus travels by Aedes mosquitoes - the same black-and-white striped, day-biting mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus) that carry dengue and Zika. A mosquito picks up the virus biting an infected person and passes it on with its next bites. No person-to-person spread without the mosquito.
After an incubation of 2-12 days (typically 3-7), the illness hits abruptly: high fever and severe pain in multiple joints - wrists, ankles, fingers, knees - often with a rash, headache and exhaustion. The acute storm settles in 1-2 weeks. The joints, however, can complain for months afterward: a post-viral inflammatory arthritis that is the disease's real burden.
Deaths are rare. The misery is not: acute chikungunya can be disabling for days, and chronic joint pain can shadow recovery. Newborns, adults over 65, and people with diabetes, heart disease or carry the higher risk for severe disease.
There is no specific antiviral for chikungunya - treatment is supportive: rest, fluids, paracetamol, and later anti-inflammatory care for the joints under a doctor's eye. Prevention is mosquito control, and recovery is usually complete. This series covers each stage.
Chikungunya is an Aedes mosquito-borne viral fever marked by abrupt high fever and severe joint pain - no specific cure, usually full recovery, with joint pain that can linger for months.
Written By
Dr. Daksh
BDS
Reviewed By
Dr. Varun Gupta
MD Pharmacology, MBBS
Last updated on
27 Sep 2022 • 06:23 PM (IST)
Read Our Editorial Policy
Want to know more?
Have issue with the content?
Report Problem
Explore more articles about this topic
RT-PCR in the first 5 days, IgM after, dengue excluded every time - and a late antibody answer for chronic joint pain.
Paracetamol first; no aspirin or NSAIDs until dengue is excluded; doctor-guided anti-inflammatories for the joint tail.
Acute, post-acute and chronic - chikungunya's phases, and the chronic joint phase that needs a specialist's long game.
Fluids and light food for the fever; turmeric, omega-3s and protein for the joint months - the plate supports both stages.
Rest, fluids, paracetamol in week one; warmth, gentle movement, turmeric and giloy for the joints - with clear limits.
Test early, exclude dengue, paracetamol and fluids for the storm, guided anti-inflammatories for the tail, hospital for red lines.
