Imported Chikungunya Fever

Travellers continue to import rare diseases. The MMWR reports 12 imported cases of Chikungunya fever in the March 30 edition. Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquitoborne alphavirus indigenous to tropical Africa and Asia, where it causes endemic and epidemic chikungunya (CHIK) fever, an acute illness characterized by fever, arthralgias, and sometimes arthritis, commonly accompanied by conjunctivitis and rash. Although symptoms of CHIKV infection usually last days toweeks, joint symptoms and signs usually last for months and occasionally for 1 year or longer; deaths from CHIKV infection are rare.