Chikungunya Virus
Classification
GROUP: GROUP IV SINGLE STRANDED POSITIVE SENSE RNA
FAMILY: Togaviridae
GENUS: Alphavirus
SPECIES: Chikungunya virus
ORDER: not assigned
VIRUS ACCESSION NUMBER: 73001507
ICTVdB VIRUS CODE: 00.073.0.01.007.00.000.002.
ICTV approved acronym: CHIKV
Description and significance:
Chikungunya virus is an arthropod borne virus from the genus Alphavirus and family Togaviridae. It was first isolated in Tanzania, Africa in 1953 and has sporadically caused human epidemics in South-east Asia, southern India. Chikungunya is a zoonotic virus with a life cycle that principally involves primates and the Aedes mosquitoes. Humans that are infected may develop relatively high viremias and fever that can elevate up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Aedes aegypti (also called the yellow fever mosquito) is the primary transmission agent for Chikungunya. It is usually found in tropics and that is the reason it is predominantly seen in Asian countries. Chikungunya has also spread across the globe in recent years and remains a viral disease with no anti-viral medication available. The clinical picture is characterized by a sudden onset of fever, rash and severe pain in the joints. The name Chikungunya comes from the Swahili language for stooped walk, reflecting the physique of a person suffering from the disease. Chikungunya fever is also called the “bone-breaker fever”. The family Togaviridae includes viruses like O’nyong nyong and Igba Oro, which are closely related to Chikungunya and induce the same disease in humans.
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