Chikungunya at the Door — Déjà Vu All Over Again?

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 371; no. 10; pp. 885 - 887
• Main Authors: Morens, David M, Fauci, Anthony S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Massachusetts Medical Society 04-09-2014
• Subjects: Aedes; Alphavirus Infections - epidemiology; Alphavirus Infections - history; Alphavirus Infections - prevention & control; Americas - epidemiology; Animals; Chikungunya Fever; Chikungunya virus; Chikungunya virus - physiology; Climate Change - history; Disease Outbreaks - history; Epidemics; Fever; History, 16th Century; History, 18th Century; History, 19th Century; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Insect Vectors; Mosquitoes; Outbreaks; Tropical diseases; United States - epidemiology; Viral infections; Americas; United States; United States > US
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1408509

A chikungunya fever outbreak that appeared in the Caribbean in December has spread to the Americas, where populations were not previously exposed to alphaviruses. The potential for chikungunya to become established in the Western Hemisphere must be considered.
In 2008, we noted that the global reemergence of dengue fever threatened U.S. residents.
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An outbreak of locally acquired dengue subsequently occurred in Florida, and the risk of U.S. dengue outbreaks will probably continue indefinitely.
We now face a new threat posed by the unrelated chikungunya virus, which causes a disease clinically similar to dengue in a similar epidemiologic pattern, which is transmitted by the same mosquito vectors, and for which we also lack vaccines and specific treatments.
In December 2013, an outbreak of chikungunya fever appeared in the French sector of Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten and spread epidemically throughout the French . . .