Open AccessDiagnosis and Management of Imported Chikungunya Fever in Taiwan: A Case Report
Author(s) -
Chang Ko,
Hsieh HsiaoChen,
Tsai JihJin,
Lin WeiRu,
Lu PoLiang,
Chen YenHsu
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the kaohsiung journal of medical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.439
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 2410-8650
pISSN - 1607-551X
DOI - 10.1016/s1607-551x(10)70037-1
Subject(s) - chikungunya , medicine , maculopapular rash , dengue fever , rash , chikungunya fever , travel medicine , seroconversion , polyarthritis , virology , dermatology , pediatrics , virus , immunology , arthritis , pathology
Chikungunya virus, a mosquito‐borne alphavirus, is endemic in Africa and Southeast Asia but is rarely reported in Taiwan. We report the case of a Taiwanese woman who developed Chikungunya fever, which was first diagnosed by a clinician rather than by fever screening at an airport. The woman presented with fever, maculopapular rash, and arthralgia, the triad for the disease, on the day she returned home after a trip to Malaysia. These symptoms are very similar to those of dengue fever, which is endemic in Southern Taiwan. Chikungunya infection was confirmed by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction and seroconversion on paired serum specimens. For approximately 40 years until 2006, no cases of Chikungunya fever had been found in Taiwan. Clinicians in Taiwan should consider Chikungunya fever as a possible diagnosis for a febrile patient with arthralgia, rash, and a history of travel to an endemic area, such as Africa or Southeast Asia.