Prolonged shedding of Chikungunya virus in semen and urine: A new perspective for diagnosis and implications for transmission

Abstract

AbsractWe report the presence of Chikungunya (CHIKV) RNA in the blood, urine and semen during the acute phase of the disease in an adult with a dual infection with Dengue virus type 3. The patient, a 25 yr-old man from Salvador, Brazil, reported a 6-day duration of high fever, arthralgia, myalgia, headache and photophobia.Blood and semen specimens were positive for CHIKV in the first collected samples; semen and urine specimens were positive for CHIKV after 30 days of symptoms onset. DENV-3 RNA was positive in blood specimen when first collected 6 days after the initiation of symptoms.We describe for the first time the presence of CHIKV RNA in urine and semen for an extended period of time and we address the possible implications of these findings for diagnosis and transmission dynamics.

The neurological complications of chikungunya virus: A systematic review

“…However, a positive blood test in a patient with neurological disease does not necessarily mean the virus caused the disease; infection may be coincidental, and care must be taken to exclude other possible causes. The virus can also be detected in urine, saliva, semen, and milk, but the same caveats apply.…”

A scoping review of Chikungunya virus infection: epidemiology, clinical characteristics, viral co-circulation complications, and control

“…Despite the fact that CHIKV RNA has been detected in semen even after 30 days post symptom onset, indicating possible transmission via sexual intercourse, horizontal transmission between humans has not yet been reported ( Fig. 1D) (Bandeira et al, 2016b;Patterson et al, 2016).…”

Should we be worried about sexual transmission of Zika and other arboviruses?

“…This is concerning if the findings of a recent paper can be reproducible in other studies [5]. This is the case of chikungunya virus (CHIKV).…”

“…In relation to the interesting review by Korzeniewski et al [1] concerning the Zika virus and the discussions of Kuna and Gajewski [2] as well from Joob and Wiwanitkit [3], we also would like to highlight some new facts concerning the sexual transmission of arboviruses that have arisen very recently [4,5]. Zika fever is an acute infectious disease caused by the Zika virus (ZIKV), a flavivirus discovered in Uganda in 1947.…”

“…This is the case of chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Bandeira et al [5] published a case report of a 25-year-old male patient with chikungunya fever in which CHIKV was isolated in urine and semen after a prolonged period of time after the onset of symptoms. Although they not performed cytopathic assays for CHIKV, this finding must be further investigated; such findings suggest that the probability of CHIKV sexual transmission cannot be ruled out at all.…”