Chikungunya symptoms cause and prevention
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease which is mainly spread by a female infected mosquito. The most common virus that is responsible for Chikungunya is Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. This two species also cause other mosquito-borne diseases, including dengue. It is an RNA virus and belonging to the family Togaviridae which is come from an alphavirus genus.
Dengue virus was 1st seen in 1952 in Southern Tanzania. Historically it was considered that Chikungunya is a tropical disease because it is only seen in India, Africa, and Asia. But in 2007 more than 60 countries identified Chikungunya virus these include countries like Italy, France, Croatia, and the Caribbean islands.
Cause of Chikungunya
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease which is mainly spread by a female infected mosquito. The mosquito is infected when they bite an infected person. The most common virus that is responsible for Chikungunya is Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.
This disease can be transmitted from one person to another person by the bite of an infected mosquito. The mosquito is well known to bite during the day and at the time of evening and are mostly eat in indoor than outdoor.
After the bite of an infected mosquito, the unwellness is shown between 2 to 8 day and range from 2 to 12 days.
Rarely Chikungunya can also be transmitted from a pregnant woman to her baby at the time of birth. But till now there no case is found that infant is affected by Chikungunya during breastfeeding. But it can be transmitted through blood fusion.
Symptoms of Chikungunya
Chikungunya typically lasts from 5 to 7 days and frequently causes severe fever. It also creates an incapacitating joint pain which sometimes persists more than a week or may a month which is life-threatening. The virus may also cause acute subacute or chorionic diseases.
The universal sign and symptoms, including:
- Fever
- Joint pain
- Headache
- Nausea
- Muscle fatigue
- Vomiting
- And rashes.
Commonly this disease can be cured within a week, but in some severe case the joint pain can’t cure completely, it may persist more than a year. In some time cause of this virus, older people have died.
Treatment of Chikungunya
There is no Vaccine or antiviral medicine available for the treatment of Chikungunya. Medication can be given based on their symptoms, including joint pain.
Treatment based on the symptoms of Chikungunya
- more rest is require
- For maintaining dehydration drink fluid
- For reduce fever and pain take medicine like acetaminophen or paracetamol.
- Don’t take any type aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
- And if you’re taking any medicine than taken with the permission of your doctor.
Prevention of Chikungunya
To avoid mosquito bites, wear clothes that cover skin as much as possible and use mosquito repellents based on label instructions.
Use mosquito nets to protect pregnant woman babies, older people and sick people and others who present during the day. Use mosquito coils and insecticide during the daytime.
Use mosquito nets to protect pregnant woman babies, older people and sick people and others who present during the day. Use mosquito coils and insecticide during the daytime.
To reduce mosquito breeding, remove water present around your home clean your drain and remove discarded containers around your house.
Avoid travelling in the outbreak area.
Use oil that contains lemons.
Stay in the home as much as possible mainly during early morning and early afternoon.
Diagnosis of Chikungunya
Many strategies can be used for diagnosis Chikungunya. The symptoms of Chikungunya are almost like those of dengue and Zika; diseases spread by similar mosquitoes that transmit Chikungunya.
Only a blood test will definitively diagnose Chikungunya as symptoms don’t seem to be always simple to inform except different conditions. Serological tests, like enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), could ensure the presence of IgM and IgG anti-chikungunya antibodies.
IgM antibody levels are highest three to five weeks once the onset of unwellness and persist for about two months.
Samples collected throughout the first week after the onset of symptoms should be tested by both medical science and virological methods (RT-PCR).
The virus could also be isolated from the blood throughout the primary few days of infection. Various reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) strategies are on the market; however, are of variable sensitivity.
Some are suited to the clinical designation. RT–PCR merchandise from clinical samples may be used for genotyping of the virus, permitting comparisons with virus samples from varied geographical sources.
Why only Female mosquitoes-spread viruses or Why only female mosquitoes are the carrier of germs and the male are not?
Both male and female mosquito are feed plant nectar which secreted from the flower. But female mosquito feed blood.
Because when a female mosquito becomes a flying adult, she is ready for taking 1st blood meal from the host-host may be human or any other animal. After that, the blood id digested inside the body of the mosquito and egg is developed.
She lay eggs and again she needs blood for the nurture of egg. At the time of the taking of blood meal from the host body, the virus enters into the body of a mosquito and grow in the salivary gland of mosquito. When she bites a healthy person, the virus comes into the body of the host.
She lay eggs and again she needs blood for the nurture of egg. At the time of the taking of blood meal from the host body, the virus enters into the body of a mosquito and grow in the salivary gland of mosquito. When she bites a healthy person, the virus comes into the body of the host.