Abstract
During the recent chikungunya fever outbreak in French Polynesia in October 2014 to March 2015, we observed an abnormally high number of patients with neurological deficit. Clinical presentation and complementary exams were suggestive of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) for nine patients. All nine had a recent dengue-like syndrome and tested positive for chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in serology or RT-PCR. GBS incidence was increased four- to nine-fold during this period, suggesting a link to CHIKV infection.
Highlights
Among the reported chikungunya fever cases, ca 50 people developed complications and 18 died; most of them had comorbidities
Chikungunya fever is an arboviral disease that usually manifests as a self-liming dengue-like syndrome with high fever, severe arthralgias and myalgias, and a maculopapular rash
IgM antibodies against chikungunya virus (CHIKV) have been found in Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with meningitis, supporting the theory of neuroinvasion [7]
Summary
Increase in cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome during a Chikungunya outbreak, French Polynesia, 2014 to 2015. During the recent chikungunya fever outbreak in French Polynesia in October 2014 to March 2015, we observed an abnormally high number of patients with neurological deficit. GBS incidence was increased four- to nine-fold during this period, suggesting a link to CHIKV infection. Between October 2014 and March 2015, an estimated 66,000 cases of chikungunya virus infections were reported in French Polynesia, with an overall attack rate of 25% [1]. GBS had already been associated with several arboviral diseases including chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infections [2,3], but a cluster as we reported here had never been described
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