Chikungunya in a pediatric cohort: Asymptomatic infection, seroconversion, and chronicity rates
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pntd.0013254
- PMID
- 40668874
- PMCID
- PMC12286324
- OpenAlex
- W4412488709
- Study type
- Cohort study
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The findings indicate that most CHIKV infections in children are symptomatic, a small but notable proportion fail to seroconvert after acute infection, and chronic disease can occur in the pediatric population. These patterns support the need for sustained surveillance and age-appropriate interventions for chikungunya in children and adolescents.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study examined incidence, asymptomatic infection rates, seroconversion, and development of chronic manifestations following chikungunya virus infection in children and adolescents.
Study design
Nested cohort study within a phase III dengue vaccine trial conducted in Simões Filho, Brazil, from 2018-2020 with up to three years of follow-up. Arbovirus surveillance included routine study visits with periodic blood collection, adverse event visits, and febrile episode visits, with samples tested by RT-PCR and serology.
Population and setting
The cohort included 348 pediatric volunteers enrolled between 2018-2020 in Simões Filho, Bahia, Brazil, with 311 completing follow-up (median 41 months). At baseline, 7% were seropositive for anti-chikungunya IgG.
Main findings
Among the 311 participants who completed follow-up, 17% tested positive for CHIKV (25 by RT-PCR, 28 by serology), with 9.4% asymptomatic. Seroconversion occurred in 84% of RT-PCR-positive cases. Chronic arthralgia developed in 12% (3 of 25) of confirmed cases, and only one-fifth of participants had been exposed to CHIKV by study end despite local outbreaks.
Public-health relevance
The findings indicate that most CHIKV infections in children are symptomatic, a small but notable proportion fail to seroconvert after acute infection, and chronic disease can occur in the pediatric population. These patterns support the need for sustained surveillance and age-appropriate interventions for chikungunya in children and adolescents.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata. Full assessment of study limitations, including potential selection bias from the nested trial design, completeness of case ascertainment, and generalizability beyond the study setting, requires review of the original paper.
GIDS interpretation
The article is classifier-linked to Chikungunya and Dengue diseases in Brazil, with topics including Surveillance, Treatment, and Vaccination. The nested cohort design within a dengue vaccine trial provided a structured platform for prospective arbovirus surveillance in a pediatric population during a period of local chikungunya transmission.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 14 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.