Chikungunya Virus-associated Long-term Arthralgia: A 36-month Prospective Longitudinal Study

Background Arthritogenic alphaviruses, including Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), are responsible for acute fever and arthralgia, but can also lead to chronic symptoms. In 2006, a Chikungunya outbreak occurred in La Réunion Island, during which we constituted a prospective cohort of viremic patients (n = 180) and defined the clinical and biological features of acute infection. Individuals were followed as part of a longitudinal study to investigate in details the long-term outcome of Chikungunya. Methodology/Principal Findings Patients were submitted to clinical investigations 4, 6, 14 and 36 months after presentation with acute CHIKV infection. At 36 months, 22 patients with arthralgia and 20 patients without arthralgia were randomly selected from the cohort and consented for blood sampling. During the 3 years following acute infection, 60% of patients had experienced symptoms of arthralgia, with most reporting episodic relapse and recovery periods. Long-term arthralgias were typically polyarthralgia (70%), that were usually symmetrical (90%) and highly incapacitating (77%). They were often associated with local swelling (63%), asthenia (77%) or depression (56%). The age over 35 years and the presence of arthralgia 4 months after the disease onset are risk factors of long-term arthralgia. Patients with long-term arthralgia did not display biological markers typically found in autoimmune or rheumatoid diseases. These data helped define the features of CHIKV-associated chronic arthralgia and permitted an estimation of the economic burden associated with arthralgia. Conclusions/Significance This study demonstrates that chronic arthralgia is a frequent complication of acute Chikungunya disease and suggests that it results from a local rather than systemic inflammation.
Author Summary Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is transmitted to human by mosquitoes. It is a re-emerging virus that has a risk to spread globally, given the expanding dissemination of its mosquito vectors. Chikungunya disease is characterized by acute transient febrile arthralgic illness, but can also lead to chronic incapacitating arthralgia. We have conducted a prospective longitudinal study to investigate in details long-term outcome of CHIKV infection. We found that 60% of patients experienced arthralgia 36 months after the onset of acute disease. Arthralgia affected most often multiple sites and were usually incapacitating. In addition to arthralgia, many patients suffered from myalgia and cutaneous lesions and several cognitive dysfunctions. We also showed that age over 35 years and the presence of arthralgia 4 months after the onset of disease are risk factors for long-term arthralgia. Patients with long-term arthralgia did not display biological markers typically found in autoimmune or rheumatoid diseases. This study demonstrates that chronic arthralgia is a frequent complication of acute Chikungunya disease and suggests that it results from a local rather than systemic inflammation.