Emergency Medicine: Open Access
Open Access

Abstract

Chikungunya Related Sudden and Unexpected Deaths in Brazil: Is the Worst yet to Come?

Silvia Martelo Souza da Fonseca, Fernando Resende de Oliveira and Antonio Mosa

Brazilian citizens and its public health system have been dealing with Aedes aegypti and dengue for more than a decade now. More recently, Zika and Chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses have arisen, sharing the same vector as dengue. Some reports initially suggested that those new arbovirosis had a better prognosis, but specially (CHIKV) infection is such a young variation of dengue that researches worldwide still need more time to understand its behaviour. The population previously exposed to the virus together with climatic changes and inadequate sanitary situation were favorable for an outbreak and then a decrease in clinical cases in Brazil. CHIKV infection can present with an acute/ subacute phase followed by a chronic condition. The acute phase has shown severe atypical manifestations mainly in people with comorbidities, increasing the risk of death. The objective of this case report is to describe the sudden and unexpected deaths of two young and healthy females presumed caused by CHIKV in a 24-hour period after admission to a Public Heath Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On this behalf, this more recent arbovirus infection still represents a great challenge to emergency care physicians and researchers worldwide and it seems too early to determine CHIKV acute and late prognosis. Science should be aware that CHIKV outbreak emerge as lethal as dengue or even worse.