| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2009 | Volume
: 2
| Issue : 1 | Page : 1-3 |
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Mystery behind emergence and re-emergence of Chikungunya virus
KV Ramana1, G Kranthi Prakash2
1 Department of Microbiology, Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences, Narketpally, India
2 Department of Community Medicine, Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences, Narketpally, India
Correspondence Address:
K V Ramana
Department of Microbiology, Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences, Narketpally
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
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Chikungunya (CHIK) virus is a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus with a single stranded, positive sequence RNA genome. It causes CHIK fever, a vector borne disease transmitted by mosquitoes belonging to the genus Aedes. The disease is characterized by abrupt onset of fever, chill, headache and severe joint pain. The incubation period of the virus ranges from one to12 days; the infection is always self-limiting and rarely fatal. CHIK virus originated from Africa and spread to Asia and other parts of the world. It has different genotypes and varied modes of transmission. The virus, with a history of emergence and re-emergence, is responsible for several epidemics and isolated outbreaks involving large populations in many parts of Africa and Asia as well as other regions of the world. The mystery behind the repeated re-emergence of CHIK virus is still unresolved. This is a major challenge for the medical fraternity. |
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