Chikungunya - a serious threat for public health

Abstract

Introduction. Chikungunya is a contagious disease caused by Chikungunya virus, an arbovirus from the Togaviridae family. This infection is mostly spread by mosquitoes from the genus Aedes, especially Aedes albopictus, which have spread from Asia to America and Europe including some countries surrounding Serbia. Epidemiologic Features. The outbreak of epidemics has been reported in Philippines, Sumatra, Java, Indonesia, West Africa region (from Senegal to Cameroon), Congo, Nigeria, Angola, Uganda, Guinea, Malawi, Central African Republic, Burundi, South Africa and India. At the beginning of the 21st century, large outbreaks were recorded on the island of R?union. During 2006, 1.400.000 cases of chikungunya infection were recorded in India. Local transmission of infection in continental Europe was reported from Northeast Italy (254 suspected and 78 laboratory confirmed cases in Emilia-Romagna region) and France (two cases in 2010). From December 2013 to June 2014, 5.294 confirmed cases and more than 180.000 suspected cases of chikungunya were reported in the Caribbean. Clinical Findings. The disease presents suddenly with fever, rush and arthralgia. In general, chikungunya is a mild self - limited disease. Less often, it may be presented with signs of meningoencephalitis or fulminant hepatitis, sometimes with fatal outcome. Conclusion. Fast developing international traffic and booming tourism as well as the vector spreading from its homeland make chikungunya a real threat to our country.