Chikungunya Manifestations and Viremia in Patients Who Presented to the Fever Clinic at Bangkok Hospital for Tropical Diseases during the 2019 Outbreak in Thailand

Chikungunya virus is an Alphavirus belonging to the family Togaviridae that transmitted humans by infected Aedes mosquito. Patients develop fever, inflammatory arthritis, and rash during acute stage of infection. Although illness self-limiting, atypical severe cases are not uncommon, 60% may chronic symptoms persist for months or even longer durations. Having a distinct periodical epidemiologic outbreak pattern, chikungunya reappeared in Thailand December 2018. Here, we describe cohort patients who had presented Bangkok Hospital Tropical Diseases October 2019. Infection was detected novel antigen kit subsequently confirmed real-time RT-PCR using serum collected at presentation Fever Clinic. Other possible febrile illnesses such as influenza, dengue, malaria were excluded. We explored sequence clinical manifestations phase associated viral load with findings. Most healthy individuals their forties. arthralgia predominant found this patient cohort, small proportion systemic symptoms. Higher loads arthralgia, involvement large joints more common female patients.