Chikungunya Virus Transmission

Abstract

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borneAlphavirus that causes Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) in humans. In 1952, the CHIKV was found in East Africa in a sylvatic and urban cycle between Aedes mosquitoes, and human and nonhuman primates in tropical regions. Since 2004, CHIKF has spread rapidly in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Both Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are known to be arboviral mosquito vectors of CHIKV. Ae. aegypti is mostly found within the tropics, whereby Ae. albopictus also occurs in temperate and cold temperate regions. Host-seeking female mosquitoes are infected after feeding on a viremic animal. The replication of CHIKV happens in the midgut and then enters the hemocoel before disseminating to the salivary glands of the mosquito. The disseminated virus can be transmitted by injecting infectious saliva into the host skin during blood feeding. In the naïve host body, CHIKV replicates in the dermal fibroblasts through blood circulation, and disseminates to other parts of the body such as brain cells, kidney, heart, lymphoid tissues, liver, and joints. Symptoms of CHIKV infection include high fever, rigors, headache, photophobia, and maculopapular rash. It is advised to avoid mosquito bites; also, larvae management systems should be applied in endemic environments.