Chikungunya Infection Specialist Doctor in Mumbai Chikungunya is a global public health concern. It is transmitted by the mosquito vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on a person already infected with the virus. Infected mosquitoes can then spread the virus to other persons via biting. They bite primarily during the day but also at night. The majority of infected individuals are symptomatic. The signs and symptoms begin abruptly with fever and malaise after an incubation period of 3 to 7 days. The fever may be preceded by joint pain. The fever may be high grade; the usual duration of fever is 3 to 5 days. The duration of acute illness is usually 7 to 10 days. Arthralgia ( Joint Pain ) is a prominent feature of acute symptomatic chikungunya virus infection. Sometimes symptoms begin in one or two joints, but almost always eventually involve many joints. The most frequently affected joints include hands, wrists, and ankles. Pain may be intense and disabling, leading to immobilization. There may be involvement of skin in 40 to 75 percent of patients. There is usually, an appearance of a rash. The rash appears three days or later after onset of illness and lasting for three to seven days. Severe complications and deaths have been reported during chikungunya outbreaks. These occur more often among elderly patients and in those with underlying chronic medical problems like diabetes and heart diseases. Severe complications include catastrophic implication of major organs of the body like lungs, liver, kidney, heart and brain. The prompt care and treatment under a specialist should be sought to prevent the occurrence of such mishaps. Around 25 to 75 percent of patients develop chronic symptoms. The chronic manifestations usually involve joints affected during acute illness. The joint disease can be relapsing or unremitting and incapacitating. The diagnosis of chikungunya is established by RT – PCR, during first seven days of symptoms. For individuals presenting more than a week following onset of symptoms, serologic testing should be performed. The role of a specialist is paramount to decide for proper investigation to diagnose the said infection. There is no specific antiviral therapy for treatment of chikungunya virus infection and management during the acute phase is supportive, including rest, fluids, and anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents. The treatment should always be under care of a specialist. The prevention consists of minimizing mosquito exposure. Aedes mosquitoes bite primarily during the daytime; they breed in standing water ( particularly containers ). The personal protective measures include wearing long sleeves, and long pants, using repellents. The environmental control measures include identification and elimination of potential mosquito breeding sites. There should be conscious attempts to avoid allowing standing water to collect outdoors such as in flower pots, buckets, bottles, jars, and other similar containers near houses. The development of a vaccine for prevention of chikungunya virus infection is ongoing.1