First Identification of an Autochthonous Case of Chikungunya in Guinea.

Abstract

The first confirmation of chikungunya virus infection in Guinea is reported in the present study. The patient, a 68-year-old woman presumptively diagnosed with malaria and with no history of travel, was identified through a research project focused on the etiologies of febrile illnesses in Guinea. A whole-blood sample from the patient was analyzed using multiplex reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, yielding a positive result for chikungunya virus, and was subsequently sequenced. The near-complete genome sequence was most closely related to strains circulating that year in Senegal. The study data are noteworthy because, despite past serological evidence of transmission, active human infection with the chikungunya virus has not previously been observed in Guinea; its emergence is linked to the identification of Aedes vectors in Dalaba. Further clinical and entomological investigations are warranted, along with country-wide genomic surveillance of arboviruses to better understand risk factors that have driven the emergence of chikungunya in Guinea and prevent possible future epidemics.