Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Multiplexed Isothermal Amplification Based Diagnostic Platform to Detect Zika, Chikungunya, and Dengue 1
06:18

Multiplexed Isothermal Amplification Based Diagnostic Platform to Detect Zika, Chikungunya, and Dengue 1

Published on: March 13, 2018

Chikungunya fever in two German tourists returning from the Maldives, September, 2009

M Pfeffer1, I Hanus, T Löscher

  • 1Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, Veterinary Faculty, University of Leipzig, Germany. pfeffer@vetmed.uni-leipzig.de

Euro Surveillance : Bulletin Europeen Sur Les Maladies Transmissibles = European Communicable Disease Bulletin
|April 17, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Chikungunya virus was isolated from German tourists returning from the Maldives. The virus harbored a mutation enabling adaptation to the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) poses a significant public health threat, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions.
  • The emergence and spread of CHIKV are influenced by viral genetic mutations and vector adaptation.
  • Surveillance of CHIKV in non-endemic regions is crucial for early detection and control.

Observation:

  • Two German tourists developed chikungunya fever after traveling to the Maldives in September 2009.
  • The isolated CHIKV strain was successfully cultured and molecularly characterized.
  • The presence of the E1 A226V mutation was identified in the viral genome.

Findings:

  • The E1 A226V mutation is associated with enhanced CHIKV adaptation to the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus.
  • The E1 gene sequence of the isolated virus closely matched strains from Sri Lanka.
  • Minor nucleotide mismatches were observed when compared to a previously reported Maldives CHIKV E1 sequence.

Implications:

  • This finding highlights the potential for CHIKV introduction and transmission in new geographical areas via international travel.
  • The adaptation to Aedes albopictus suggests a potential for increased local transmission if the vector is present.
  • Continuous molecular surveillance of CHIKV is essential for understanding viral evolution and spread.

More Related Videos

Forced Salivation As a Method to Analyze Vector Competence of Mosquitoes05:03

Forced Salivation As a Method to Analyze Vector Competence of Mosquitoes

Published on: August 7, 2018

Related Concept Videos

Yellow Fever01:18

Yellow Fever

Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease caused by the yellow fever virus (YFV), a member of the Flaviviridae family. It is transmitted primarily by Aedes and Haemagogus mosquitoes in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and South America. After transmission through a mosquito bite, the virus initially replicates in skin-resident immune cells such as dendritic cells and macrophages. These cells then migrate to the lymph nodes, where viral replication increases, eventually leading to...
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever01:26

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) is a severe tick-borne illness caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, a Gram-negative, coccobacillary bacterium. This pathogen is an obligate intracellular parasite, requiring a host cell for replication. Transmission occurs through the bite of an infected tick. In the United States, the most important vectors are Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick) and Dermacentor andersoni (Rocky Mountain wood tick), though other tick species may also serve as vectors.
Malaria01:29

Malaria

Malaria pathogenesis in humans reflects a delicate interplay between parasite biology and host response. Clinical illness reflects a host’s immune response to the parasite’s asexual replication cycle, which is often asymptomatic in individuals with partial immunity. From the parasite's perspective, transmission between mosquito and human with minimal host pathology is evolutionarily advantageous. Among the six Plasmodium species infecting humans, P. falciparum and P. vivax dominate in global...
Symbiosis00:58

Symbiosis

Symbiotic relationships are long-term, close interactions between individuals of different species that affect the distribution and abundance of those species. When a relationship is beneficial to both species, this is called mutualism. When the relationship is beneficial to one species but neither beneficial nor harmful to the other species, this is called commensalism. When one organism is harmed to benefit another, the relationship is known as parasitism. These types of relationships often...
Arboviral Encephalitis01:25

Arboviral Encephalitis

Arboviral encephalitis refers to brain inflammation caused by arthropod-borne viruses, particularly those transmitted through mosquito vectors. Among these, West Nile virus (WNV), a member of the Flaviviridae family, is a significant public health concern. WNV is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus. Human infection typically begins when an infected mosquito introduces the virus into the dermis during feeding. The primary transmission cycle involves birds as amplifying hosts...
Viral Recombination00:57

Viral Recombination

Cells are sometimes infected by more than one virus at once. When two viruses disassemble to expose their genomes for replication in the same cell, similar regions of their genomes can pair together and exchange sequences in a process called recombination. Alternatively, viruses with segmented genomes can swap segments in a process called reassortment.