Chikungunya Fever in Clinically Diagnosed Patients: A Brief Report of Comparison Between Laboratory Confirmed and Discarded Cases

Abstract

Objectives: In 2015, a total of 1607 chikungunya cases were confirmed in Yucatan, Mexico, where they all took place in the second half of the year, meaning a simultaneous occurrence of both chikungunya and dengue outbreaks. This coexistence of both outbreaks posed a challenge to differentiate clinical diagnosis. The current study aimed at identifying signs and symptoms to clinically discriminate chikungunya from dengue fever in ambulatory cases. Methods: The results of a case series observational, descriptive, retrospective study of suspected ambulatory patients whose samples were referred to the laboratory for polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/serum analysis from August to December 2015 were provided. Results: The study included 181 cases of which 152 were positive, finding that pruritus was a suggestive symptom of an acute infection caused by chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Polyarthralgia and pruritus were significantly associated with chikungunya confirmed cases, compared with discarded cases. Conclusions: Polyarthralgia and pruritus are suggestive symptoms of an acute infection caused by CHIKV.