Chikungunya and Skin: Current Perspective

© 2017 Indian Dermatology Online Journal | Published by Wolters Kluwer ‐ Medknow Chikungunya (CHK) is an acute onset, mosquito‐borne viral disease characterized by high fever, predominant musculo‐skeletal symptoms, and skin rash. It is a re‐emerging viral infection transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. The etiological agent is a RNA virus that belongs to the alphavirus genus of the family Togaviridae. The disease is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected Aedes mosquito; two species namely Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus being the responsible vectors in Asia.[1] Both of these can also transmit other mosquito‐borne viruses, including dengue. These mosquitoes generally bite throughout daylight hours with peaks of activity in the early morning and late afternoon.