Clinical and Serological Insights from the Asian Lineage Chikungunya Outbreak in Grenada, 2014: An Observational...

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) spread rapidly throughout the Caribbean region in 2014, and the first serologically confirmed case was seen in Grenada in July. This study investigated the outbreak of CHIKV in Grenada to identify the distinguishing clinical manifestations and the symptoms that corresponded the closest with serological test results. Sera were tested by IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and polymerase chain reaction to distinguish between cases positive or negative for CHIKV. Of 493 cases, 426 (86%) tested positive for CHIKV. The diagnostic decision rule, "Define as CHIKV positive a patient presenting with joint pain and any combination of fever, body pain, or rash," produced the closest agreement (85%) with the serological test results (Cohen's kappa, k = 0.289, P value < 0.001). When laboratory facilities are not available for diagnostic confirmation, syndromic surveillance using these four symptoms could be useful to define cases during a CHIKV outbreak when CHIKV is the predominant circulating arbovirus.