REVIEW published: 24 June 2021 doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.695173 Edited by: Martin Michaelis, University of Kent, United Kingdom Reviewed by: Tatsuo Shioda, Osaka University, Japan Nathalie Chazal, Université de Montpellier, France *Correspondence: Sujatha Sunil sujatha@icgeb.res.in Soma Chattopadhyay soma@ils.res.in ‡ The Translational Research Consortia (TRC) for chikungunya virus in India authors are listed at the end of the article. Specialty section: This article was submitted to Virology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Microbiology Received: 14 April 2021 Accepted: 17 May 2021 Published: 24 June 2021 Citation: The Translational Research Consortia (TRC) for Chikungunya Virus in India (2021) Current Status of Chikungunya in India. Front. Microbiol. 12:695173. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.695173 Current Status of Chikungunya in India The Translational Research Consortia (TRC) for Chikungunya Virus in India ‡ Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) is an arbovirus disease caused by chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an alphavirus of Togaviridae family. Transmission follows a human-mosquito- human cycle starting with a mosquito bite. Subsequently, symptoms develop after 2–6 days of incubation, including high fever and severe arthralgia. The disease is self- limiting and usually resolve within 2 weeks. However, chronic disease can last up to several years with persistent polyarthralgia. Overlapping symptoms and common vector with dengue and malaria present many challenges for diagnosis and treatment of this disease. CHIKF was reported in India in 1963 for the first time. After a period of quiescence lasting up to 32 years, CHIKV re-emerged in India in 2005. Currently, every part of the country has become endemic for the disease with outbreaks resulting in huge economic and productivity losses. Several mutations have been identified in circulating strains of the virus resulting in better adaptations or increased fitness in the vector(s), effective transmission, and disease severity. CHIKV evolution has been a significant driver of epidemics in India, hence, the need to focus on proper surveillance, and implementation of prevention and control measure in the country. Presently, there are no licensed vaccines or antivirals available; however, India has initiated several efforts in this direction including traditional medicines. In this review, we present the current status of CHIKF in India. Keywords: Chikungunya fever (CHIKF), chikungunya virus (CHIKV), polyarthralgia, epidemiology, disease resolution INTRODUCTION Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) is an arthropod-borne viral (arbovirus) disease (Mohan, 2006; Mohan and Sharma, 2007) that has become a global health concern following its resurgence since 2006 (Pialoux et al., 2007; Simon et al., 2008). Historically, there have been reports of epidemics of fever along with arthralgia as far back as 1824, similar to present day CHIKF (WHO, 2012; Puntasecca et al., 2021). However, the CHIKF was first officially described in 1952 after an outbreak on the Makonde Plateau, south-eastern Tanzania (Lumsden, 1955; Robinson, 1955). The word “chikungunya” is taken from the verb “kungunyala” in Kimakonde language spoken in the same area which means “to dry up or become contorted” (Lumsden, 1955; Benjamin, 2012). The disease develops the stooped posture due to the rheumatologic manifestations describing the word chikungunya. In Congo region it is known by the name “Buka Buka” meaning “broken-broken” representing incapacitating joint pain (Muyembe-Tamfum et al., 2003). Frontiers in Microbiology | www.frontiersin.org 1 June 2021 | Volume 12 | Article 695173