Clinical manifestations of Chikungunya virus infection in HIV infected individuals: a case-control study during the Dominican Republic’s 2014 outbreak [abstract]

Abstract

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an alpha virus causing acute febrile illness characterised by crippling arthralgia, and a disseminated rash. First recognized in 1953 in East Africa, CHIKV has been spread over the world due to the expansion of Aedes mosquitoes within warm countries. CHIKV is an emerging disease in The Americas after the first cases were recognized in the lesser islands of the Caribbean known as the Lesser Antilles. Immune modulatory response to CHIKV infection appears to be T lymphocyte and macrophage-mediated, which is the same for long-lasting chronic arthralgia in immunosuppressed and immune deprived individuals. People living with HIV are included among the high-risk populations for atypical clinical manifestations of CHIKV infection. The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical findings related to CHIKV infection in two groups in the Dominican Republic based on their immune status.