An infectious disease

Chikungunya is an infectious disease caused by an arbovirus. Arboviruses, or "arthropod-borne viruses," are viruses transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods (notably mosquitoes, sandflies, and ticks). They belong to three main families: the Flaviviridae, the Togaviridae, and the Bunyaviridae." data-tooltip-title="Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are viruses transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods (notably mosquitoes, sandflies, and ticks). They belong to three main families: the Flaviviridae, the Togaviridae, and the Bunyaviridae." data-tooltip-content="" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection="true" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection-text="arbovirus" data-tooltip-data="[{"tooltipTitle":"Arboviruses « arthropod borne viruses » are viruses%transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods (mosquitoes, sandflies, and ticks, among others). They belong to 3 main families, the Flaviviridae, the Togaviridae, and the Bunyaviridae.","tooltipContent":"","placeholderIsSelection":"true","placeholderIsSelectionText":"arbovirus"}]">arbovirus: the chikungunya virus.

This virus is transmitted from person to person primarily through bites from mosquitoes of the genus Aedes, mainly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (also known as the tiger mosquito). Chikungunya is an infectious disease caused by an arbovirus: the chikungunya virus. It belongs to the Togaviridae family (genus Alphavirus) and was first isolated in Uganda in 1953 during an epidemic in East Africa. The name chikungunya comes from the Makonde language and means “the man who walks bent over.”

The disease typically presents with fever and joint pain, which resolve spontaneously after a few days.

Several modes of chikungunya transmission

Vector-borne transmission

The chikungunya virus is primarily transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods (which include insects and mites) that transmit an infectious agent (virus, bacterium, parasite) from one vertebrate to another" data-tooltip-title="blood-feeding arthropods (including insects and mites) that transmit an infectious agent (viruses, bacteria, parasites) from one vertebrate to another" data-tooltip-content="" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection="true" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection-text="vectors" data-tooltip-data="[{"tooltipTitle":"arthropod (including insects and mites) blood-feeding (feeding on blood) that transmits an infectious agent (virus, bacteria, parasite) from one vertebrate to another","tooltipContent":"","placeholderIsSelection":"true","placeholderIsSelectionText":"vectors"}]">vectors. For this virus, the vectors are mosquitoes of the genus Aedes, primarily Aedes albopictus (also known as the tiger mosquito) and Aedes aegypti.
The chikungunya virus was first isolated in Tanzania in 1952. Chikungunya is an infection that occurs primarily in tropical and subtropical regions where the vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are present. Aedes albopictus is also present in temperate zones, particularly in Europe, including mainland France.
Within France, Aedes aegypti is found in the French West Indies, French Guiana, and Mayotte, while Aedes albopictus is present on Réunion Island and in several mainland departments.

Aedes albopictus (also known as the tiger mosquito) is also present in southern Europe and in mainland France, where three transmission episodes have been identified. Two outbreaks, affecting several hundred patients, occurred in Italy in 2007 and 2017. These Aedes mosquitoes primarily develop in urban areas and do not travel far during their lifetimes. Females lay their eggs in breeding sites where stagnant water is necessary for larval development: pots, saucers, used tires, poorly drained gutters, various types of debris containing stagnant water, as well as tree hollows and certain plants that can trap water (bamboo, etc.). Man-made breeding sites are the primary egg-laying locations for these mosquitoes.

Aedes bites occur mainly during the day, with peak activity at dawn and dusk. When an infected person is bitten at a time when the virus is present in their blood." data-tooltip-title="time when the virus is present in their blood." data-tooltip-content="" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection="true" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection-text="viral phase" data-tooltip-data="[{"tooltipTitle":"the time when the virus is present in their blood.","tooltipContent":"","placeholderIsSelection":"true","placeholderIsSelectionText":"viremic phase"}]">viremic phase, the mosquito picks up the virus from that person’s blood. The virus then multiplies in the mosquito for approximately 10 days, a period known as the extrinsic phase. At the end of this extrinsic phase, the mosquito can transmit the virus and infect a new person through another bite. 
For chikungunya, the time when the virus is present in their blood." data-tooltip-title="time when the virus is present in their blood." data-tooltip-content="" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection="true" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection-text="viremic phase" data-tooltip-data="[{"tooltipTitle":"the time when the virus is present in their blood.","tooltipContent":"","placeholderIsSelection":"true","placeholderIsSelectionText":"viremic phase"}]">viremic phase begins approximately 1 to 2 days before the onset of clinical signs and lasts up to 7 days afterward.

Transmission via products of human origin

The virus can, more rarely, be transmitted through transfusion or transplantation (of organs or cells).

Other modes of transmission

A few cases of mother-to-fetus (second trimester of pregnancy) and perinatal transmission have been documented

Symptoms and complications

In approximately 10 to 40% of cases, chikungunya is asymptomatic (percentage varies depending on the outbreak). 
For the 60% to 90% of people who develop symptoms, the incubation period lasts an average of 3 to 7 days (up to 1 to 12 days). Symptoms typically include:

• A sudden onset of high fever
• Joint pain that can be severe, primarily affecting the small joints of the extremities (wrists, ankles, fingers)
• Muscle pain
• Headaches
• A maculopapular rash

The course is usually favorable after about ten days, with no lasting effects, but chikungunya can also progress to a chronic phase characterized by persistent joint pain. This can occur in 30 to 40% of patients and last for several months or even years in some patients. 

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of chikungunya virus infection is performed using techniques that may be direct (detection of the virus by culture or of its genome by PCR) or indirect (detection of antibodies by serology).

The diagnostic approach, recommended in the Ministry’s plan “Preventing the Spread of Chikungunya and Dengue in Metropolitan France,” is as follows:

• Up to 5 days after the onset of symptoms (Day 5): RT-PCR
• Between D5 and D7: RT-PCR and serology
• After D7: serology only (IgG and IgM) with a second confirmatory sample taken no earlier than 10 days after the first sample

Thus, it is essential to accurately identify the date of symptom onset (DDS) in order to select the appropriate tests. Early testing (up to D7) via RT-PCR should be prioritized due to its higher specificity compared to serology. IgM antibodies can be detected starting on the fifth day after the onset of clinical signs and persist for an average of 2 to 3 months. IgG antibodies appear a few days after IgM and persist for life.

Blood samples can be collected by any clinical laboratory. Each sample must be accompanied by a clinical information form. Laboratory confirmation of chikungunya is particularly important in the French overseas departments and in mainland France where the vector (Aedes albopictus or Aedes aegypti) is established.

Prevention

Prevention relies on both individual and community actions.

• Individual Prevention

Individual prevention relies on measures to protect against mosquito bites: repellents in sprays or creams, coils, electric diffusers, long clothing, and mosquito nets. Protection is particularly necessary during the day, as Aedes vector mosquitoes bite mainly during the day, primarily outdoors, with peak activity in the early morning and late afternoon.

Two vaccines have recently received European marketing authorization: 

• the IXCHIQ vaccine from Valneva;
• and the VIMKUNYA vaccine from Bavarian Nordic.

In 2026, amid active circulation of the chikungunya virus in Mayotte and French Guiana with a risk of an epidemic developing, the French National Authority for Health (HAS) recommended in its opinions of April 9 and 24, 2026, the use of the VIMKUNYA vaccine:

• for people aged 65 and older (with or without comorbidities);
• for people aged 18 to 64 with comorbidities.

The VIMKUNYA vaccine may be offered to other populations, taking into account the documented duration of protection limited to six months and the lack of data in immunocompromised individuals. It is not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women due to the lack of data.

The HAS indicates that the IXCHIQ vaccine may be offered to individuals aged 18 to 64 following a thorough review of the potential benefits and risks; it maintains its suspension for individuals aged 65 and older due to pharmacovigilance signals. The IXCHIQ vaccine is not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women and is contraindicated for immunocompromised individuals.

The HCSP has been asked to issue recommendations for chikungunya vaccination for travelers; the 2026 recommendations are currently being developed.

Learn more:

• Opinion No. 2026.0022/AC/SESPEV of April 9, 2026, from the College of the High Authority for Health regarding the IXCHIQ and VIMKUNYA vaccines in the context of the re-emergence of chikungunya in French Guiana
• Opinion No. 2026.0027/AC/SESPEV of April 24, 2026, from the Board of the French National Authority for Health regarding the use of the IXCHIQ and VIMKUNYA vaccines in the context of active circulation of the chikungunya virus with a risk of progression to an epidemic in the Indian Ocean
• Information on the IXCHIQ vaccine
• Information on the VIMKUNYA vaccine 
• Chikungunya vaccination | vaccination-info-service.fr
• Health recommendations for travelers | High Council for Public Health

• Community-based prevention and vector control

Community-based mosquito prevention and control also rely on all measures designed to control and protect against vectors of human pathogens (mosquitoes, lice, etc.) and to monitor them." data-tooltip-title="all measures designed to control and protect against vectors of human pathogens (mosquitoes, lice, etc.) and their surveillance." data-tooltip-content="" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection="true" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection-text="vector control" data-tooltip-data="[{"tooltipTitle":"all measures intended for the control and à the protection against vectors of pathogens that affect humans (mosquitoes, lice, etc.) and their surveillance.","tooltipContent":"","placeholderIsSelection":"true","placeholderIsSelectionText":"vector control"}]">vector control and community-based control. 
The control of disease-carrying vectors, such as mosquitoes, is referred to as vector control. In its broadest sense, this vector control encompasses both the control of and protection against these insects. Vector control relies on methods that vary depending on the vectors and the epidemiological and socioeconomic contexts. It includes chemical control, biological control, genetic control, environmental interventions, health education, community mobilization, and the ongoing evaluation of all these methods.

Its objective is to contribute, alongside other public health measures, to reducing the risks of endemicity (the long-term establishment of a disease in a region) or epidemics, to reduce the transmission of pathogens by vectors, and to manage outbreaks of vector-borne diseases, all within a formalized strategic framework.

Depending on the scale at which this mosquito control is carried out, a distinction is made between control efforts at the territorial level (county, municipalities) and those at the individual level, which specifically target mosquito breeding sites located in the immediate vicinity of homes.

"The set of measures intended for the control and protection against vectors of human pathogens (mosquitoes, lice, etc.) and their surveillance." data-tooltip-title="all measures intended for the control of and protection against vectors of pathogens harmful to humans (mosquitoes, lice, etc.) and their surveillance." data-tooltip-content="" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection="true" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection-text="vector control" data-tooltip-data="[{"tooltipTitle":"all measures intended for à the%control and à protection against vectors of pathogens for humans (mosquitoes, lice’, etc.) and their monitoring. ’human pathogens (mosquitoes, lice…) and their surveillance.","tooltipContent":"","placeholderIsSelection":"true","placeholderIsSelectionText":"vector control"}]">vector control at the regional level is carried out by public mosquito control agencies. Chemical control has two components:

• Larvicides, which target mosquito larvae specifically
• Adulticide, which specifically targets adult mosquitoes

Community-based control, which is everyone’s responsibility, relies on:

• The elimination of potential larval breeding sites around homes (standing water in saucers, gutters, vases, buckets, trash, etc.)
• Personal protection against mosquito bites

Treatment

There is no specific antiviral treatment for chikungunya. Management is therefore primarily symptomatic, aimed at relieving symptoms. Pain and fever are treated with analgesics and antipyretics.
It is necessary to explain to the patient and their family that mosquito protection measures help prevent transmission at home (see “How can the disease be prevented at the individual level?”). During the period when the virus is present in the blood." data-tooltip-title="period when the virus is present in the blood." data-tooltip-content="" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection="true" data-tooltip-placeholder-is-selection-text="viral phase" data-tooltip-data="[{"tooltipTitle":"the period when the virus is present in the blood.","tooltipContent":"","placeholderIsSelection":"true","placeholderIsSelectionText":"viremic viremic"}]">viremic phase of the disease, the patient must protect themselves from mosquito bites to prevent the mosquitoes from becoming infected and spreading the disease to those around them a few days later.

A mosquito established in mainland France

Aedes albopictus (also known as the tiger mosquito) is considered the most invasive mosquito species in the world. It is native to Southeast Asia, from where it spread from east to west via commercial transport. In Europe, it was first identified in Albania in 1979 and then in Italy starting in 1990. It has been established in southern France since 2004 and has been gradually spreading ever since.

By early 2024, 78 departments had been colonized by the Aedes albopictus mosquito (out of the 96 metropolitan departments).