History
In 1928 an outbreak of acute febrile arthritis was recorded in Narrandera and Hay in New South Wales, Australia. In 1943 several outbreaks of arthralgia and arthritis were described in the Northern Territory, Queensland and the Schouten Islands, off the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The name epidemic polyarthritis was coined for this disease. In 1956 an epidemic occurred in the Murray Valley which was compared to "acute viral polyarthritis" caused by Chikungunya virus. The Australian disease seemed to progress in milder fashion. In 1956 serological testing suggested an unknown new species of alphavirus (group A arbovirus) was the likely culprit.
In 1959, a new alphavirus was identified in mosquito (Ochlerotatus vigilax) samples trapped near Ross River, near Townsville, Queensland, Australia. Further serological testing showed that patients who had suffered "epidemic polyarthritis" in Queensland had antibodies to the virus. The new virus was named Ross River virus, and the disease Ross River fever.
The virus itself was first isolated in 1972 using sucking mice. It was found that RRV isolated from human serum could kill mice. However, the serum containing the virus that was used had come from an Aboriginal boy from Edward River, North Queensland. The child had a fever and a rash but no arthritis making the link between RRV and Ross River fever less than concrete.
However RRV was later isolated in humans following a series of epidemic polyarthritis outbreaks in Fiji, Samoa and the Cook Islands, during 1979. RRV was isolated in an Australian patient suffering from Ross River fever in 1985.
In 2010, the Ross River Virus was found to have made its way to the Aundh area in Pune, India and spread to other parts of the city. A tourist to Australia probably returned infected with the virus. The RRV infection is characterized by very high fever, pain in the joints, loss of appetite and weakness. Hydration by sufficient fluid intake is recommended to ensure that the fever does not rise to very dangerous levels. It is recommended that a doctor be consulted immediately as regular paracetamol gives only temporary reprieve from the fever.
Read more about this topic: Ross River Virus
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