ABSTRACT

Objective: To document the musculoskeletal manifestations of the Chikungunya epidemic in Jamaica.

Method: One Hundred cases of patients with Chikungunya infection with subacute musculoskeletal symptoms during the 2014 epidemic were collected and reviewed. Cases were identified from patients who presented to the outpatient departments of Orthopaedic clinics in Kingston. The case definition for the diagnosis of Chikungunya, published by World Health Organization (WHO), was used to identify subjects. Patients who did not satisfy these criteria or did not have musculoskeletal manifestations after the acute phase were excluded.

Results: The study population consisted of 100 persons with an average age of 55.1 years, 28 % were men.  The time from acute phase to presentation was 3.15 weeks. Areas with premorbid musculoskeletal disease were present in 60% of persons. The shoulder, wrist, and knees were the most common areas affected. Areas that had been affected by injury or disease previously were more commonly involved.

Conclusion: This study shows that persons over 50 years are more likely to suffer from subacute musculoskeletal symptoms of Chikungunya and the areas with previous musculoskeletal disease are more likely to be affected.