Treatment
There are no specific treatments for chikungunya, and no vaccine is currently available. A Phase II vaccine trial, sponsored by the US Government and published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 2000, used a live, attenuated virus, developing viral resistance in 98% of those tested after 28 days and 85% still showed resistance after one year.
A serological test for chikungunya is available from the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, icul.
Chloroquine is gaining ground as a possible treatment for the symptoms associated with chikungunya, and as an anti-inflammatory agent to combat the arthritis associated with the virus. A University of Malaya study found that for arthritis-like symptoms not relieved by aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), chloroquine phosphate (250 mg/day) has given promising results. Unpublished studies in cell culture and monkeys show no effect of chloroquine treatment on reduction of chikungunya disease. The fact sheet on chikungunya advises against using aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen and other NSAIDs that are recommended for arthritic pain and fever.
Read more about this topic: Chikungunya
Famous quotes containing the word treatment:
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—Hippocrates (c. 460–c. 370 B.C.)
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—Plato (c. 427–347 B.C.)
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—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)