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  • Review Article
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Biology and pathogenesis of chikungunya virus

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 8, pages 491–500 (2010)Cite this article

Subjects

Key Points

  • Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus that provokes arthralgia and, potentially, severe complications in humans.

  • A multidisciplinary effort, carried out over the past 5 years, allowed a thoughtful characterization of this mysterious virus.

  • Recently, there was an unexpectedly severe epidemic of CHIKV in countries of the Indian Ocean region. This outbreak seems to have been the result of a striking adaptation of the virus to a new arthropod, Aedes albopictus (the tiger mosquito).

  • Analyses of isolates from this outbreak have resulted in several interesting findings regarding the clinical onset and physiopathology of this virus.

  • Progress has also been made to further our understanding of the interactions of CHIKV with its human host, the cellular tropism of the virus and the mechanisms of triggering the innate immune response.

  • Clinical development has also seen recent advances.

Abstract

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging mosquito-borne alphavirus responsible for a recent, unexpectedly severe epidemic in countries of the Indian Ocean region. Although many alphaviruses have been well studied, little was known about the biology and pathogenesis of CHIKV at the time of the 2005 outbreak. Over the past 5 years there has been a multidisciplinary effort aimed at deciphering the clinical, physiopathological, immunological and virological features of CHIKV infection. This Review highlights some of the most recent advances in our understanding of the biology of CHIKV and its interactions with the host.

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Figure 1: Worldwide distribution of chikungunya virus.
Figure 2: Dissemination of chikungunya virus in vertebrates.
Figure 3: Chikungunya virus pathogenesis.
Figure 4: Innate immune control of chikungunya virus.

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Acknowledgements

We thank members of our laboratories and T. Couderc for critical reading of the manuscript. We also acknowledge the robust collaborations within the Institut Pasteur CHIKV Taskforce, led by F. Rey. Work in our laboratories is supported by grants from the Agence Nationale de Recherche (ANR), the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the Centre de Recherche et de Veille sur les Maladies é mergentes dans l'Océan Indien (CRVOI), the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) and the Institut Pasteur.

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  1. Institut Pasteur, 28 rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Cedex 15, Paris, France

    Olivier Schwartz & Matthew L. Albert

  2. Olivier Schwartz & Matthew L. Albert

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  1. Olivier Schwartz
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WHO guidelines on the Clinical Management of Chikungunya

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Schwartz, O., Albert, M. Biology and pathogenesis of chikungunya virus. Nat Rev Microbiol 8, 491–500 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro2368

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