Inflammatory Sequelae After Chikungunya Virus Infection: Proposed Nutritional Treatment

Patients infected with chikungunya virus (CHIKV) exhibit specific characteristics, including high fever, rigors, headache, photophobia, petechial rash or maculopapular rash, and incapacitating joint pain. It is thought that the presence of CHIKV immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies play an important role in a new type of rheumatoid arthritis reported in 2009. It has been reported that 97% of patients with CHIKV infection complain of recurrent symptoms for 6 months. Fatigue was considered to be totally disabling in 4.6% of patients and very disabling in 42.8% of patients. Only 10% of patients considered their mood normal, whereas 37.8% felt demoralized and 43.9% considered their mood weakened. This article presents our review of the literature in which we looked for an effective nutritional approach for the treatment of CHIKV infection and its sequelae. It has been reported that the use of omega-3 fatty acids, intravenous vitamin C, bromelain, and curcumin plays an important role in decreasing the inflammatory response during an acute viral illness and other inflammatory processes, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Our general recommendation based on the current evidence, is that the use of omega-3 fatty acids, intravenous vitamin C, bromelain, and curcumin could be an effective treatment option for the inflammatory sequelae of CHIKV infection.