Chikungunya Virus and Vectors
1
Rapid Detection of Chikungunya virus
by Reverse Transcriptase – Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR)
ABSTRACT
Chikungunya is an art hropod-borne viral disease, t ransmit t ed
mainly by Aedes mosquit oes. The inf ect ion gives very disabilit at ing
sympt oms, which somet imes may mislead t o ot her viral diseases.
Theref ore, diagnosis should be conf irmed by virus isolat ion, det ect ed by
RT-PCR, as well as serologically (IgG and IgM ant ibodies), which will
f acilit at e more accurat e diagnosis.
Keywords: Chikungunya, Aedes mosquit oes, RT-PCR
INTRODUCTION
Chikungunya is an art hropod-borne viral disease commonly found in
Africa and Sout heast Asia. The viral agent is t ransmit t ed bot h in primat e
and human mainly by Aedes mosquit oes.
It is suggest ed t hat alt hough human infect ion wit h t his virus
appears of low act ivit y, it is widespread and t he virus remains a pot ent ial
menace and may be responsible for fut ure epidemics (Mat usop & Singh,
2000).
The infect ion gives a very disabilit at ing sympt om due t o t he
involvement of t he j oint s.
Even t hough chikungunya is considered as a
self-limit ed disease, t he sympt oms it gives make t he development of t he
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
2
laborat ory-based surveillance syst em more import ant in providing an early
warning of chikungunya epidemics. Surveillance of mosquit oes infect ed
wit h CHIKV provides an early warning sign for risk of t ransmission in an
area. A reverse t ranscript ase-polymerase chain react ion (RT-PCR) was
developed for t he rapid det ect ion of chikungunya virus in infect ed
mosquit oes in epidemic areas.
CHIKUNGUNYA VIRUS
Historical Background
The word ‘ chikungunya’ was first used by t he indigenous people of
Sout hern Province, Tanganyika Territ ory (Tanzania), in reference t o a
disease which afflict ed t hem in epidemic form in 1952-1953 (Jupp &
McInt osh, 1985). The word is Swahili meaning “ t hat which bends up” and
refers t o t he st ooping post ure adopt ed by pat ient s because of t he severit y
of t he j oint pains .The virus belongs t o t he genus Alphavirus of t he family
Togaviridae.
Chikungunya is syst emat ically named in 1997, wit h alt ernat ive
name ‘ Buggy Creek virus’ and acronym CHIKV. It is a single RNA virus. The
Int ernat ional Classificat ion of Disease Codes (ICD) for chikungunya fever is
A92.0 (www.cbwinfo.com/ Biological/ Pat hogens/ CHIK.ht ml).
Disease Distribution
CHIKV was first isolat ed by Ross in pat ient s from Tanganyika
(Tanzania) in 1957 (Powers, 2000). Report s of chikungunya epidemics have
been described in Africa and India. The virus seems t o be enzoot ic
t hroughout t ropical Africa, and it appears t o have spread t o ot her part s of
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
3
t he world from Africa t o cause pandemics in bot h t he American and Asian
t ropics. Since 1953, CHIKV has caused numerous well-document ed
out breaks and epidemics in bot h Africa and Sout heast Asia, involving
hundreds of t housands of people (Diallo, 1999; Powers, 2000). The disease
has also been report ed from Aust ralia (Thaikruea, 1997).
In t he Sout heast Asia region, CHIKV infect ion has been report ed in
Burma, Philippines, Thailand and recent ly Malaysia (Thaikruea, 1997;
Mat usop & Singh, 2000; Lam, 2001).
In Thailand, CHIKV infect ion is classified as re-emerging disease
when t wo out breaks were report ed in 1995. The first report ed case of
chikungunya diagnosed by serologically in Thailand was in 1960 and t he
last case was in 1991 (Thaikruea et al., 1997).
In Malaysia, CHIKV was never report ed unt il January 1999,
confirmed by t he WHO Collaborat ing Cent re for Arbovirus, UM Universit y
Hospit al and The West ern Aust ralian Cent re for Pat hology and Medical
Research, Aust ralia (Lam, 2001).
In Indonesia, a CHIKV epidemic was report ed in April 1983, and
reached t he peak in December 1983 (Haksohusodo et al., 1983). Reemerging disease was ident ified t hroughout t he count ry from Sept ember
2001 t o March 2003 (Laras et al., 2004).
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
4
CLINICAL ASPECTS
Clinical Features
The incubat ion period varies bet ween 2-12 days, but usually t wo t o
four days, and t he single most significant sympt om is t he art hralgia,
present ing in 70%cases (Jupp & McInt osh, 1985).
In many pat ient s, t he onset of art hrit is is followed in 1-10 days by a
maculopapular rash, usually nonprurit ic, affect ing mainly t he t runk and
limbs.
The rash resolves wit hin 7-10 days,
followed by a fine
desquamat ion. Fever is somet imes absent . Cervical lymphadenopat hy
occurs frequent ly. Ot her signs and sympt oms of chikungunya include
parest hesias and t enderness of palms and soles, polyart hrit is, minor
haemorrhages and leucopenia.
Some st udies showed t hat t he j oint pains, st iffness and swelling
persist ed for four mont hs t o t hree years (Mat usop &Singh, 2000).
In cont rast t o t he clinical present at ion in adult s, t he most
present ing sympt om in children was vomit ing and abdominal pain or
anorexia. Art hrit is and art hralgia appear t o be less prominent feat ures.
The clinical examinat ion showed t hat t he most frequent sign was
pharyngit is and facial flushing (Zuckerman et al ., 1994).
There has been no report of deat h due t o chikungunya, except for
one possible case during t he epidemic in 1973 in India (Mat usop & Singh,
2000). Chikungunya is generally considered as a non-fat al but very
disabilit at ing disease.
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
5
Diagnosis and Treatment
Chikungunya can be provisionally diagnosed
based
on t he
present at ion of t he main signs and sympt oms such as maculopapular rash
following t he onset of art hrit is.
Alt hough not list ed as a haemorrhagic fever virus, illness caused by
CHIKV can be confused wit h diseases such as dengue or yellow fever,
based on t he similarit y of t he sympt oms. Therefore, diagnosis should be
confirmed by virus isolat ion as well as serologically (IgG and IgM
ant ibodies), which will facilit at e more accurat e diagnosis. A rise in t it re
from a second serology t est or isolat ion in mice, mosquit o or cell cult ure
will give definit ive result s.
There is no specific t reat ment for t he pat ient s. This is mainly
support ive and sympt omat ic. Rest is indicat ed during t he acut e illness,
and non-st eroidal ant i-inflammat ory drugs for t he art hrit is.
CHIKUNGUNYA VECTORS
Various species of Aedes mosquit oes have been incriminat ed as
pot ent ial vect ors of chikungunya. In Thailand, Aedes aegypt i and Aedes
albopict us have been associat ed wit h chikungunya out breaks in 1995
(Thaikruea et al., 1997). In Sout h Africa, Aedes f urcif er and Aedes
cordellieri
are considered t o be epidemic-epizoot ic vect or during
epidemics (Diallo et al., 1999), while in West and Cent ral Africa, Aedes
af ricanus is t he dominant vect or (Mat usop & Singh, 2000).
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
6
Aedes aegypt i
Large epidemics occur in urban and semi-urban set t ings where t he
virus is t ransmit t ed by Aedes aegypt i. This most prominent vect or is
widespread in t ropical count ries. The man-bit ing habit s of domest ic Aedes
aegypt i appear t o vary in different count ries where CHIKV epidemics have
occurred.
It was suggest ed t hat t he rapid spread of virus might have been due
t o t he dayt ime bit ing habit of t he local Aedes aegypt i. During t he day t he
human host s are most likely t o dist urb t he mosquit oes, t hus int errupt ing
t heir feeds, so t hat a mosquit o moves t o anot her host t o finish feeding
t hus t ransmit t ing t he virus mechanically. The present populat ion growt h in
Africa wit h it s associat ed urbanizat ion could lead t o large-scale fut ure
epidemics on t he scale already experienced in Asia, wit h t he possible
maint enance of t he virus in an Aedes aegypt i-man cycle (Jupp & McInt osh,
1985).
Vector Control
CHIKV is st rict ly t ropical in dist ribut ion, which is clear from it s
geographical dist ribut ion pat t ern in sout hern Africa, where t he virus is
absent
from t he t emperat e areas (Jupp & McInt osh, 1985). The
t ransmission cycle of CHIKV is charact erized by a periodicit y of occurrence
wit h silence int ervals of 3-4 years (Diallo et al., 1999). Most common
epidemic occurs following t he rainy season.
Detection by RT-PCR
RT-PCR (reverse t ranscript ase-polymerase chain react ion) is t he
most sensit ive t echnique for mRNA det ect ion and quant ificat ion current ly
available. Compared t o t he t wo ot her commonly used t echniques for
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
7
quant ifying mRNA levels, Nort hern blot analysis and RNase prot ect ion
assay, RT-PCR can be used t o quant ify mRNA levels from much smaller
samples.
In
quant ificat ion
fact ,
t his t echnique is sensit ive enough
of
RNA
from
a
t o enable
single
cell
(www.ambion.com/ t echlib/ basics/ rt pcr/ ).
CHIKV can be isolat ed by t he int racerebral inoculat ion of suckling
mice, or by viral cult ure in eit her mosquit o or mammalian cell cult ure
syst ems (Zuckerman, 1994).
There were several st udies conduct ed using RT-PCR in det ect ing
chikungunya virus. Pfeffer et
al. (2002) used RT-PCR/ Nest ed PCR
combinat ion and was successfully apply t he t echnique t o four CHIKV
isolat es from pat ient ’ s serum samples from Asia and Africa. Hasebe et al.
(2002) used cult ure fluid from Aedes albopict us (C6/ 36 cell line) t o isolat e
t he virus of Malaysian st rain from t he pat ient s during epidemic 1998 in
Malaysia.
Laras et al. (2005) ext ract ed t he RNA from all pat ient sera and
mosquit o samples by nest ed RT-PCR met hod during epidemic in Indonesia
(Sept ember 2001 t o March 2003). Overall, evidence of recent and acut e
CHIKV infect ions, based on serology and/ or RT-PCR, was demonst rat ed in
47% of serum samples assayed. But t he at t empt s failed t o det ect evidence
of CHIKV by RT-PCR in t he field infect ed mosquit oes.
Alt hough chikungunya does not normally cause deat h, t he disease
may become a public healt h t hreat in t he count ry if t he virus is int roduced
due t o t he prevalence of t he Aedes mosquit o vect ors. Early st eps should
be t aken in order t o prevent fut ure out breaks, especially in t ropical areas,
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
8
where t he vect ors are available. RT-PCR can be useful as an early warning
syst em t o det ect infect ed mosquit oes in epidemic areas.
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
9
REFERENCES
Diallo, M.,Thonnon, J., Lamizana, M.T., Fontenille, D. (1999): Vect or of
chikungunya virus in Senegal: Current dat a and t ransmission cycles, Am J
Trop Med Hyg, 60(2): 281-286
Galasso, G.J., Whitley, R.J., Merigan, T.C. (1993): Exot ic RNA viruses, in
pract ical diagnosis of viral infect ions, Raven Press New York: 306-307
Haksohusodo, S. (1986): Chikungunya viral disease out break in Yogyakart a
Indonesia:
1983,
t he XIV Int ernat ional
Congress of
Microbiology,
Manchest er, UK, Sept ember 7-13,
Hasebe, F., Parquet, M.C., Pandey, B.D, et al. (2002): Combined
det ect ion and genot yping of chikungunya virus by a specific Reverse
Transcript ion-Polymerase Chain React ion, J Med Virol. July; 67(3): 370374
Jupp, P.G., McIntosh, B.M. (1985): Chikungunya virus disease, The
Arboviruses Epidemiology and Ecology; 11: 137-157
Lam, S.K., Chua, K.B., Hooi, P.S., et al. (2001): Chikungunya infect ion—
an emerging disease in Malaysia, Sout heast Asian J Trop Med Public
Healt h, Sept ; 32(3): 447-451
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
10
Laras, K., Sukri, N.C., Larasati, R.P., et al . (2005): Tracking t he reemergence of epidemic chikungunya virus in Indonesia, Transact ion of The
Royal Societ y of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; 99: 128-141
Matusop, A., Singh, S. (2000): Chikungunya it s epidemiology and
foresight s for fut ure prevent ion and cont rol in Malaysia, Vect or Journal ;
6(1): 21-26
Pastorino, B., Bessaud, M., Grandadam, M., et al. (2005): Development
of a TaqMan RT-PCR assay wit hout RNA ext ract ion st ep for t he det ect ion
and quant ificat ion of African chikungunya viruses, J Virol Met hods March;
124(1-2): 65-71
Pfeffer, M., Linssen, B., Parker, M.D., et al. (2002): Specific det ect ion of
chikungunya virus using a RT-PCR/ Nest ed PCR combinat ion, Journal of
Vet erinary Medicine Series B, February; 49(1): 49
Powers, A.M., Brault, A.C., Tesh, R.B., Weaver S.C. (2000): Reemergence of chikungunya and o’ nyong-nyong viruses: Evidence for
dist inct geographical lineage and dist ant evolut ionary relat ionships,
Journal of General Virol ogy; 81: 471-479
Thaikruea, L., Charea, O., Reanphumkarnkit, S., et
al. (1997):
Chikungunya in Thailand: A re-emerging disease?, Sout heast Asian J Trop
Med Public Healt h, June; 28(2):359-364
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
11
www.ambion.com/ t echlib/ basics/ rt pcr/
www.cbwinfo.com/ Biological/ Pat hogens/ CHIK.ht ml
Zuckerman, A.J., Banatvala, J.E., Pattison, J.R. (1994): Principles and
pract ice of clinical virology, 3rd ed., John Wiley & Sons, Chichest er,
England: 474-475
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
Rapid Detection of Chikungunya virus
by Reverse Transcriptase – Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR)
ABSTRACT
Chikungunya is an art hropod-borne viral disease, t ransmit t ed
mainly by Aedes mosquit oes. The inf ect ion gives very disabilit at ing
sympt oms, which somet imes may mislead t o ot her viral diseases.
Theref ore, diagnosis should be conf irmed by virus isolat ion, det ect ed by
RT-PCR, as well as serologically (IgG and IgM ant ibodies), which will
f acilit at e more accurat e diagnosis.
Keywords: Chikungunya, Aedes mosquit oes, RT-PCR
INTRODUCTION
Chikungunya is an art hropod-borne viral disease commonly found in
Africa and Sout heast Asia. The viral agent is t ransmit t ed bot h in primat e
and human mainly by Aedes mosquit oes.
It is suggest ed t hat alt hough human infect ion wit h t his virus
appears of low act ivit y, it is widespread and t he virus remains a pot ent ial
menace and may be responsible for fut ure epidemics (Mat usop & Singh,
2000).
The infect ion gives a very disabilit at ing sympt om due t o t he
involvement of t he j oint s.
Even t hough chikungunya is considered as a
self-limit ed disease, t he sympt oms it gives make t he development of t he
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
2
laborat ory-based surveillance syst em more import ant in providing an early
warning of chikungunya epidemics. Surveillance of mosquit oes infect ed
wit h CHIKV provides an early warning sign for risk of t ransmission in an
area. A reverse t ranscript ase-polymerase chain react ion (RT-PCR) was
developed for t he rapid det ect ion of chikungunya virus in infect ed
mosquit oes in epidemic areas.
CHIKUNGUNYA VIRUS
Historical Background
The word ‘ chikungunya’ was first used by t he indigenous people of
Sout hern Province, Tanganyika Territ ory (Tanzania), in reference t o a
disease which afflict ed t hem in epidemic form in 1952-1953 (Jupp &
McInt osh, 1985). The word is Swahili meaning “ t hat which bends up” and
refers t o t he st ooping post ure adopt ed by pat ient s because of t he severit y
of t he j oint pains .The virus belongs t o t he genus Alphavirus of t he family
Togaviridae.
Chikungunya is syst emat ically named in 1997, wit h alt ernat ive
name ‘ Buggy Creek virus’ and acronym CHIKV. It is a single RNA virus. The
Int ernat ional Classificat ion of Disease Codes (ICD) for chikungunya fever is
A92.0 (www.cbwinfo.com/ Biological/ Pat hogens/ CHIK.ht ml).
Disease Distribution
CHIKV was first isolat ed by Ross in pat ient s from Tanganyika
(Tanzania) in 1957 (Powers, 2000). Report s of chikungunya epidemics have
been described in Africa and India. The virus seems t o be enzoot ic
t hroughout t ropical Africa, and it appears t o have spread t o ot her part s of
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
3
t he world from Africa t o cause pandemics in bot h t he American and Asian
t ropics. Since 1953, CHIKV has caused numerous well-document ed
out breaks and epidemics in bot h Africa and Sout heast Asia, involving
hundreds of t housands of people (Diallo, 1999; Powers, 2000). The disease
has also been report ed from Aust ralia (Thaikruea, 1997).
In t he Sout heast Asia region, CHIKV infect ion has been report ed in
Burma, Philippines, Thailand and recent ly Malaysia (Thaikruea, 1997;
Mat usop & Singh, 2000; Lam, 2001).
In Thailand, CHIKV infect ion is classified as re-emerging disease
when t wo out breaks were report ed in 1995. The first report ed case of
chikungunya diagnosed by serologically in Thailand was in 1960 and t he
last case was in 1991 (Thaikruea et al., 1997).
In Malaysia, CHIKV was never report ed unt il January 1999,
confirmed by t he WHO Collaborat ing Cent re for Arbovirus, UM Universit y
Hospit al and The West ern Aust ralian Cent re for Pat hology and Medical
Research, Aust ralia (Lam, 2001).
In Indonesia, a CHIKV epidemic was report ed in April 1983, and
reached t he peak in December 1983 (Haksohusodo et al., 1983). Reemerging disease was ident ified t hroughout t he count ry from Sept ember
2001 t o March 2003 (Laras et al., 2004).
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
4
CLINICAL ASPECTS
Clinical Features
The incubat ion period varies bet ween 2-12 days, but usually t wo t o
four days, and t he single most significant sympt om is t he art hralgia,
present ing in 70%cases (Jupp & McInt osh, 1985).
In many pat ient s, t he onset of art hrit is is followed in 1-10 days by a
maculopapular rash, usually nonprurit ic, affect ing mainly t he t runk and
limbs.
The rash resolves wit hin 7-10 days,
followed by a fine
desquamat ion. Fever is somet imes absent . Cervical lymphadenopat hy
occurs frequent ly. Ot her signs and sympt oms of chikungunya include
parest hesias and t enderness of palms and soles, polyart hrit is, minor
haemorrhages and leucopenia.
Some st udies showed t hat t he j oint pains, st iffness and swelling
persist ed for four mont hs t o t hree years (Mat usop &Singh, 2000).
In cont rast t o t he clinical present at ion in adult s, t he most
present ing sympt om in children was vomit ing and abdominal pain or
anorexia. Art hrit is and art hralgia appear t o be less prominent feat ures.
The clinical examinat ion showed t hat t he most frequent sign was
pharyngit is and facial flushing (Zuckerman et al ., 1994).
There has been no report of deat h due t o chikungunya, except for
one possible case during t he epidemic in 1973 in India (Mat usop & Singh,
2000). Chikungunya is generally considered as a non-fat al but very
disabilit at ing disease.
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
5
Diagnosis and Treatment
Chikungunya can be provisionally diagnosed
based
on t he
present at ion of t he main signs and sympt oms such as maculopapular rash
following t he onset of art hrit is.
Alt hough not list ed as a haemorrhagic fever virus, illness caused by
CHIKV can be confused wit h diseases such as dengue or yellow fever,
based on t he similarit y of t he sympt oms. Therefore, diagnosis should be
confirmed by virus isolat ion as well as serologically (IgG and IgM
ant ibodies), which will facilit at e more accurat e diagnosis. A rise in t it re
from a second serology t est or isolat ion in mice, mosquit o or cell cult ure
will give definit ive result s.
There is no specific t reat ment for t he pat ient s. This is mainly
support ive and sympt omat ic. Rest is indicat ed during t he acut e illness,
and non-st eroidal ant i-inflammat ory drugs for t he art hrit is.
CHIKUNGUNYA VECTORS
Various species of Aedes mosquit oes have been incriminat ed as
pot ent ial vect ors of chikungunya. In Thailand, Aedes aegypt i and Aedes
albopict us have been associat ed wit h chikungunya out breaks in 1995
(Thaikruea et al., 1997). In Sout h Africa, Aedes f urcif er and Aedes
cordellieri
are considered t o be epidemic-epizoot ic vect or during
epidemics (Diallo et al., 1999), while in West and Cent ral Africa, Aedes
af ricanus is t he dominant vect or (Mat usop & Singh, 2000).
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
6
Aedes aegypt i
Large epidemics occur in urban and semi-urban set t ings where t he
virus is t ransmit t ed by Aedes aegypt i. This most prominent vect or is
widespread in t ropical count ries. The man-bit ing habit s of domest ic Aedes
aegypt i appear t o vary in different count ries where CHIKV epidemics have
occurred.
It was suggest ed t hat t he rapid spread of virus might have been due
t o t he dayt ime bit ing habit of t he local Aedes aegypt i. During t he day t he
human host s are most likely t o dist urb t he mosquit oes, t hus int errupt ing
t heir feeds, so t hat a mosquit o moves t o anot her host t o finish feeding
t hus t ransmit t ing t he virus mechanically. The present populat ion growt h in
Africa wit h it s associat ed urbanizat ion could lead t o large-scale fut ure
epidemics on t he scale already experienced in Asia, wit h t he possible
maint enance of t he virus in an Aedes aegypt i-man cycle (Jupp & McInt osh,
1985).
Vector Control
CHIKV is st rict ly t ropical in dist ribut ion, which is clear from it s
geographical dist ribut ion pat t ern in sout hern Africa, where t he virus is
absent
from t he t emperat e areas (Jupp & McInt osh, 1985). The
t ransmission cycle of CHIKV is charact erized by a periodicit y of occurrence
wit h silence int ervals of 3-4 years (Diallo et al., 1999). Most common
epidemic occurs following t he rainy season.
Detection by RT-PCR
RT-PCR (reverse t ranscript ase-polymerase chain react ion) is t he
most sensit ive t echnique for mRNA det ect ion and quant ificat ion current ly
available. Compared t o t he t wo ot her commonly used t echniques for
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
7
quant ifying mRNA levels, Nort hern blot analysis and RNase prot ect ion
assay, RT-PCR can be used t o quant ify mRNA levels from much smaller
samples.
In
quant ificat ion
fact ,
t his t echnique is sensit ive enough
of
RNA
from
a
t o enable
single
cell
(www.ambion.com/ t echlib/ basics/ rt pcr/ ).
CHIKV can be isolat ed by t he int racerebral inoculat ion of suckling
mice, or by viral cult ure in eit her mosquit o or mammalian cell cult ure
syst ems (Zuckerman, 1994).
There were several st udies conduct ed using RT-PCR in det ect ing
chikungunya virus. Pfeffer et
al. (2002) used RT-PCR/ Nest ed PCR
combinat ion and was successfully apply t he t echnique t o four CHIKV
isolat es from pat ient ’ s serum samples from Asia and Africa. Hasebe et al.
(2002) used cult ure fluid from Aedes albopict us (C6/ 36 cell line) t o isolat e
t he virus of Malaysian st rain from t he pat ient s during epidemic 1998 in
Malaysia.
Laras et al. (2005) ext ract ed t he RNA from all pat ient sera and
mosquit o samples by nest ed RT-PCR met hod during epidemic in Indonesia
(Sept ember 2001 t o March 2003). Overall, evidence of recent and acut e
CHIKV infect ions, based on serology and/ or RT-PCR, was demonst rat ed in
47% of serum samples assayed. But t he at t empt s failed t o det ect evidence
of CHIKV by RT-PCR in t he field infect ed mosquit oes.
Alt hough chikungunya does not normally cause deat h, t he disease
may become a public healt h t hreat in t he count ry if t he virus is int roduced
due t o t he prevalence of t he Aedes mosquit o vect ors. Early st eps should
be t aken in order t o prevent fut ure out breaks, especially in t ropical areas,
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
8
where t he vect ors are available. RT-PCR can be useful as an early warning
syst em t o det ect infect ed mosquit oes in epidemic areas.
Hemma Yulfi: Chikukunya Virus and Vectors, 2006
USU Repository©2006
9
REFERENCES
Diallo, M.,Thonnon, J., Lamizana, M.T., Fontenille, D. (1999): Vect or of
chikungunya virus in Senegal: Current dat a and t ransmission cycles, Am J
Trop Med Hyg, 60(2): 281-286
Galasso, G.J., Whitley, R.J., Merigan, T.C. (1993): Exot ic RNA viruses, in
pract ical diagnosis of viral infect ions, Raven Press New York: 306-307
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