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Emerging viral infections and arthritis: the role of the rheumatologist

Nature Clinical Practice Rheumatology volume 4, pages 2–3 (2008)Cite this article

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The role of the rheumatologist in the evaluation of ill travelers returning from exotic lands has never been a central one. Today, however, in an era of increasingly common foreign travel combined with our recognition that viral epidemics can spread precipitously in our global community, this role might be about to change.

Up until now, the arboviral infections1 (Supplementary Table 1 online) have been considered as well-recognized but rare and arcane causes of virally mediated rheumatic complications, attention to which has largely been relegated to textbooks and advanced specialty examinations. Since late 2004, one arbovirus known as chikungunya has been responsible for millions of new infections in countries near the Indian Ocean; as a result, an increasing number of cases are being diagnosed among travelers returning to Europe and the US.2,3,4,5,6,7 Chikungunya fever has prominent rheumatic manifestations—essentially 100% in clinically diagnosed cases. The symptoms associated with chikungunya fever are capable of lasting many weeks or months after the acute illness. The mere prospect of possibly establishing chikungunya in an enzootic cycle of spread in the industrialized West justifies a brief review of the essentials of this infectious disease.

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  1. Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Desk A50, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA calabrl@ccf.org

Authors and Affiliations

  1. LH Calabrese is a Rheumatologist at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, OH, USA.,

    Leonard H Calabrese

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  1. Leonard H Calabrese
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The author declares no competing financial interests.

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Calabrese, L. Emerging viral infections and arthritis: the role of the rheumatologist. Nat Rev Rheumatol 4, 2–3 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncprheum0679

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