Genital Aphthous Ulcers and a Case of Suspected Chikungunya: A Short Clinical Case

Genital aphthous ulcers can result from multiple conditions including febrile syndromes. Chikungunya infection manifests mainly as fever accompanied by polyarthralgia and pruritic rash. Nevertheless, healthcare providers should be alert to additional presentations. This is the case of a young woman presenting with painful genital ulcers after a three day prodome of fever and polyarthralgia. As a suspected case of Chikungunya infection and a clinical diagnosis of aphthae, treatment with oral prednisone for two weeks produced complete resolution of ulcers with no scarring. It is important to recognize that genital aphthous ulcers can develop in a febrile presentation such as that with Chikungunya. Although sexually transmitted diseases should be ruled out as a more common diagnosis in cases of genital lesions, knowledge about this unusual dermatological presentation would represent not only adequate prompt treatment but will minimize equivocal diagnosis as a sexually transmitted disease.