Prevalence of Chikungunya in urban field practice area of a private medical college, Chennai

Abstract

Background:The outbreak of Chikungunya in India started during December 2005 with more than 11,00,000 cases. Many cases with symptoms suggestive of Chikungunya reported to our urban health-training centre. Hence this study was done to estimate the prevalence of Chikungunya, to study the common treatment-seeking behavior, control measures and the sequalae of Chikungunya by follow-up.Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional study was done in Anagaputhur an urban field practice area of our college. The study was done on a sample selected by systematic random sampling. Any person with fever and joint pain, with an onset from 1 August 2006 to 31 August 2006, were enrolled as cases. The cases were followed up after three months.Results:Chikungunya prevalence in the community was 22.3%; 52% of them were females and 56% of cases were in the 15-44 years age group. Median duration of acute phase was three days. Ninety-one percent of them had multiple joints’ involvement. Seventy-eight percent sought treatment from the private sector. Sixty-seven percent reported artificial collections of water around their household and 44% complained of mosquito problems during the day. Eighty-eight percent used mosquito repellents for personal protection. On follow-up 95% of them had residual joint pain, 43% had residual joint swelling and 11% had disabilities with median duration of 30 days.Conclusions:Prevalence of Chikungunya was 22.3%, predominantly affecting the age group of 15-44 years and females. The private sector was commonly sought for treatment. Entomological survey indicated Aedes breeding. Eleven percent had disabilities due to the sequelae.

A study of the outbreak of Chikungunya fever

“…Similar observations were reported by other studies [9,10]. However, in a study which was conducted in an urban field practice area of a private medical college of Chennai and in an outbreak at Vellore, south India more females were affected than males [11,12]. The maximum number of cases was in the age group of 11-50 years.…”

“…In another study, 77.7% of the affected persons sought treatment at private clinics and 18.4% took treatment at government health set ups [11].…”

Prevalence of IgG and IgM antibodies to Chikungunya virus among outpatients with febrile illness attending University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria

“…This could be attributed to the increased vector abundance and activity during rainy season as observed in study and in previous investigations (Mavalankar et al, 2008;Suryawanshi et al, 2009;Balasubramaniam et al, 2011;Dwibed et al, 2011;Mohanty et al, 2013). The patients in the present study that exhibited fever and headache were observed to show the highest prevalence of CHIKV antibody which could be the major symptoms of CHIKV infection in this environment.…”

“…The males are usually engaged in occupations that may expose them to bites by the vectors. However, the present finding disagrees with the earlier reports (Balasubramaniam et al, 2011;Dwibedi et al, 2011;Mohanty et al, 2013). The difference may probably be as a result of difference in geographical location and presence of socio-economic factors that facilitated the breeding of Aedes vector in their study area.…”

Knowledge and Awareness Regarding Chikungunya among Urban Community People of Selected Area of Dhaka City Bangladesh

“…Convenient sampling method was used. Total sample size was 312, prevalence 22.3% were taken Balasubramaniam SM, et al [17] where level confidence 95% and 5% standard error.…”