What's Chiken Guniya?

What's Chiken Guniya?


Chikungunya is a relatively rare form of viral fever caused by an alphavirus that is spread by mosquito bites from the Aedes aegypti mosquito, though recent research by the Pasteur Institute in Paris claims the virus has suffered a mutation that enables it to be transmitted by Aedes Albopictus (Tiger mosquito). This was the cause of the actual plague in the Indian Ocean and a threat to the mediterranean coast at present, requiring urgent meetings of health officcials of France, Italy and Spain, but nothing seems to be moving that way. The name is derived from the Makonde word meaning "that which bends up" in reference to the stooped posture developed as a result of the arthritic symptoms of the disease. The disease was first described by Marion Robinson[1] and W.H.R. Lumsden[2] in 1955, following an outbreak on the Makonde Plateau, along the border between Tanganyika and Mozambique, in 1952. Chikungunya is closely related to O'nyong'nyong virus[3].

Chikungunya is not considered to be fatal. However, in 2005-2006, 200 deaths have been associated with chikungunya on Réunion island and a widespread outbreak in Southern India (especially in Karnataka