Work

Distinct clinical and laboratory markers associated with disease duration and viral clearance in Foshan’s 2025 chikungunya outbreak

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Chikungunya fever (CHIKV) is a re-emerging arboviral disease with significant public health impact. Data on clinical and laboratory predictors of disease course in China are limited. This study aimed to assess the associations between clinical and laboratory parameters with both time from symptom onset and viral clearance in patients with confirmed CHIKV infection. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study of 372 patients with RT-PCR-confirmed CHIKV infection admitted to Lecong Hospital, Foshan, China, between July and August 2025. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were extracted from medical records. Pearson correlation was used to evaluate associations between clinical variables and (i) days from symptom onset, and (ii) time to viral clearance. RESULTS: Days from symptom onset were positively correlated with AST (r = 0.2088, P < 0.0001), ALT (r = 0.1533, P = 0.0043), and fever duration (r = 0.3401, P < 0.0001), while NEU showed a weak negative correlation (r = -0.1182, P = 0.0342). CK was negatively correlated with days from symptom onset (r = -0.1528, P = 0.0121). Time to viral clearance was positively correlated with age (r = 0.1896, P = 0.0069), joint pain duration (r = 0.2248, P = 0.0013), rash duration (r = 0.06763, P = 0.0339), and initial symptom duration (r = 0.1410, P = 0.0443). CONCLUSION: Elevated liver enzymes and reduced neutrophil counts were associated with longer symptom duration, while older age and prolonged joint pain, rash, and initial symptoms predicted delayed viral clearance. These findings may assist clinicians in identifying patients at risk of prolonged illness and inform targeted management strategies during CHIKV outbreaks in China and similar settings. Our study represents one of the first systematic analyses of clinical and laboratory markers associated with disease course and viral clearance in CHIKV-infected patients in China.

Source: International Journal of Infectious Diseases

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2025.108080

Authors: Zenghai Wang, Qun Lin, Caijie Liao, Yiqian Wang

Institution: Guangzhou Medical University

Language: English

Topic: Mosquito-borne diseases and control

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,900