Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Apr;36(2):124-7.
doi: 10.4103/0970-0218.84131.

Prevalence of chikungunya in urban field practice area of a private medical college, chennai

Sudharsanam M Balasubramaniam  1 , J Krishnakumar, Thattiparthi Stephen, Rashmi Gaur, Nc Appavoo
Affiliations

Prevalence of chikungunya in urban field practice area of a private medical college, chennai

Sudharsanam M Balasubramaniam et al. Indian J Community Med. 2011 Apr.

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.

Keywords: Chikungunya; health-seeking behavior; prevalence; sequelae.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age sex distribution of cases in percentage
Figure 2
Figure 2
Symptoms of chikungunya fever percentage of cases
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Shah KV, Gibbs CJ, Jr, Banerjee G. Virological investigation of the epidemic of haemorrhagic fever in Calcutta: Isolation of three strains of chikungunya virus. Indian J Med Res. 1964;52:676–83. - PubMed
    1. Dandawate CN, Thiruvengadam KV, Kalyanasundaram V, Rajagopal J, Rao TR. Serological survey in Madras city with special reference to Chikungunya. Indian J Med Res. 1965;53:707–14. - PubMed
    1. Sharma HM, Shanmugam CA, Iyer SP, Rao AR, Kuppuswami SA. Report on a random survey conducted to assess the prevalence of a Dengue like illness in Madras city- 1964. Indian J Med Res. 1965;53:720–8. - PubMed
    1. Chikungunya. [Last accessed on 2010 Dec 07]. Available from: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikungunya: Wikipedia .
    1. Mishra B, Ratho RK. Chikungunya re-emergence: Possible mechanisms. Lancet. 2006;368:918. - PubMed