Chikungunya Virus Infection in Pre-Covid-19 and Covid-19 Era; an Observation from a Tertiary Care Hospital, the State of Uttar Pradesh
Nishtha Singh
Department of Microbiology, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, UP, India.
Anil Verma
Department of Microbiology, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, UP, India.
Yashasvi Rastogi
Department of Microbiology, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, UP, India.
Amita Jain *
Department of Microbiology, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, UP, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study determined the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on CHIKV (Chikungunya virus) infection, data of cases that were referred for anti-Chikungunya IgM from1st January 2018 to 31st December 2021 (four years) was analyzed retrospectively. A total of 8822 serum samples were tested of which 3125 (35.42%) were positive. Per cent positivity in Pre-covid-19 and covid-19 era was 36.5% and 33.5% respectively. Cases presenting with Acute Febrile illness had significantly lower positivity in covid time (31.11%) than pre-covid-19 time (45.29%). Finding of this study revealed a decrease in cases of CHIKV (Chikungunya virus) infection during the covid-19 pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, pre-covid 19, chikungunya, chikungunya virus, anti-chikungunya IgM