Chickungunya Infection

[lemons]

Just came across an article on The Science Daily Website about the Chickungunya virus that’s spread by mosquitos . Apparently it has spread to the Caribbean and parts of central and south America and France. The symptoms mimic rheumatoid arthritis.

[Maz]

Hi lemons,

Thanks for sharing. Isn’t it interesting just how many infections can cause and mimic rheumatic disease. If you look at the rash pic in the following link, it also looks like vasculitis (perhaps the virus causes a type of inflammation of blood vessels).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikungunya

Infections like these make one wonder why it is still such a stretch of the imagination to consider that rheumatic disease is caused and perpetuated by some type of infection, whether acute, chronic or reactivated latent infection. Also, just how many people get tossed into the seronegative RA or lupus bucket and told to take immunosuppressant therapy, which would likely keep the infection going and require chronic need for these medications, instead of an anti-viral that could be curative. I’m doubtful any rheumy would look at a patient with the virus and be able to spot it. How, in heaven’s name, was Lindsay Lohan fortunate to have found a doctor who was able to diagnose her with this?

Hopefully, one day, medicine will take an individualized approach to diagnosis, running microbiome studies to narrow down triggers so that treatment can be uniquely designed for a person.

[Jan Lucinda1]

Maz- Where did you see that Lindsey Lohan was diagnosed with this? I didn’t see I in the Science Daily article.

[Maz]

@Jan Lucinda1 wrote:

Maz- Where did you see that Lindsey Lohan was diagnosed with this? I didn’t see I in the Science Daily article.

Jan, at the bottom of the wiki link.

[Jan Lucinda1]

Maz- There is also a good article in Forbes.

[Author]

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