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Chikungunya and infants

S

sangs

New member
Hi there,
Anyone have any info on impact of chikungunya in infants (6months -1 year old) ?

From various sources (including physicians and pediatricians) in India, I am hearing that children do not get chikungunya. I have not seen any explanation on the web as to why that might be true. In fact I came across one website where doctors are discussing children with chikungunya.
http://pediaindia.net/news/openhouse/045_chickengunya.php

So first question is - is it true that children don't contract chikungunya ? Any explanation of why they dont get it would be much appreciated.

Second question - if an infant (6 mo -1 year old) does get chikungunya, what is the risk to the infant, any long term effects and what is the treatment ?

Is it advisable to travel to places which have large number of Chikungunya cases like Chennai with an infant ?

Thanks!
Sangs
 
Re: Chikungunya and infants

While information from India can be spotty in regards to Chikungunya in children it is not so spotty in regards to the outbreak in La Reunion. It is assumed that the same strain that infected La Reunion has also infected India but I do not have supporting data to say that they are the same exact strain.

That being said, let me answer your questions starting with the data that we have from La Reunion.

1) Is it true that children don't contract chikungunya?

No. Not true at all.

The following report, dated February 23, 2006 shows that children can in fact get infected by Chikungunya. (The report is in French).

In very very rare cases Chikungunya was shown to cause death in children under the age of 4.

http://chikungunya.net/evolution/pdf/PointChikRun20060223.pdf


2) If an infant (6 mo -1 year old) does get chikungunya, what is the risk to the infant, any long term effects and what is the treatment?

I wish I could answer this question better but I have not seen many studies on the long term effects or risk to children that catch chikungunya. I am not a medical doctor but since chikungunya acts much like dengue you might want to find what the long term effects of dengue on children are and start from their or consult with a medical professional.

In terms of treatment, well right now there is no cure and people have tried pretty much everything. Consult a medical professional in regards to this issue.

3) Is it advisable to travel to places which have large number of Chikungunya cases like Chennai with an infant?

Personally I do not think it is advisable to travel to any place that is in the midst of an infectious disease outbreak regardless of whether or not you are traveling with an infant.

I can only tell you what I would do.

If it was me, I would not take a child with me to Chennai at this time.
 
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