Publication date: Dec 11, 2025
Between 5% and 20% of individuals with chikungunya infection develop chronic arthritis that is indistinguishable from rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The autoantibody pattern, such as that of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies, is usually less pronounced than that in classic RA, although overlap can occur in some individuals. Even the characteristic autoantibodies of the disease are positive in these patients. In August 2025, the Pan American Health Organization issued an epidemiological alert for outbreaks in Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay, citing 212,029 suspected cases and 110 deaths across 14 countries. Babini declared receiving honoraria, grants, and consulting fees from AbbVie, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Amaral declared having no relevant conflicts of interest. This story was translated from Medscapes Spanish edition.
| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Arthritis | Amaral |
| Bolivia | Arthritis |
| Medscapes | Chikungunya |
| Viral | Chronic |
| Individuals | |
| Infection | |
| Inflammatory | |
| Joint | |
| Ra | |
| Rheumatoid | |
| Rheumatology | |
| Said | |
| Similar | |
| Symptoms | |
| Viral |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| drug | DRUGBANK | Natural alpha interferon |
| disease | MESH | chikungunya fever |
| disease | MESH | joint pain |
| pathway | REACTOME | Infectious disease |
| disease | MESH | Infectious Disease |
| disease | MESH | reactive arthritis |
| disease | MESH | dengue |
| disease | MESH | inflammation |
| disease | MESH | pain |
| disease | MESH | Mota |
| pathway | KEGG | Rheumatoid arthritis |
| disease | MESH | rheumatoid arthritis |
| disease | MESH | infection |
| disease | MESH | Arthritis |
| disease | MESH | inflammatory rheumatism |
| disease | MESH | fever |
| disease | MESH | viral infections |
| disease | MESH | fatigue |
| disease | MESH | face |
| disease | MESH | autoimmune disease |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Mesenchymal Stem Cells |
| pathway | KEGG | Viral replication |