Background

• Chikungunya fever is a viral illness that is spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes. The disease resembles dengue fever, and is characterized by severe, sometimes persistent, joint pain (arthritis), as well as fever and rash. It is rarely life-threatening. Nevertheless, widespread occurrence of diseases causes substantial morbidity and economic loss.
• The word “Chikungunya” is Makonde for “that which bends up,” in reference to the stooped posture of patients afflicted with the severe joint pain associated with the disease. Epidemics of fever, rash and arthritis, resembling Chikungunya fever were recorded as early as 1779. However, the virus was first isolated between 1952-1953 from both man and mosquitoes during an epidemic in Tanzania.
• Chikungunya historically displayed interesting epidemiological profiles in that: major epidemics appeared and disappeared cyclically, usually with an inter-epidemic period of 7-8 years and sometimes as long as 20 years. After a long period of absence, outbreaks appeared in Indonesia in 1999 and have been virtually ongoing since 2004.