Current research and clinical trials for a vaccine against Chikungunya virus

Priyanka Singh,¹ Mala Chhabra,¹ Veena Mittal,¹ Pankaj Sharma,¹ Moshahid A Rizvi,² Lakhvir Singh Chauhan,¹ Arvind Rai<sup>1

1</sup>National Centre for Disease Control, Sham Nath Marg, ²Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

Abstract: Chikungunya infection is a self-limiting Aedes mosquito-borne arboviral disease with variable clinical manifestations, ranging from asymptomatic illness to a very severe and crippling arthralgia. Until recently, Chikungunya was a little known disease that re-emerged in 2005–2006, leading to major outbreaks on the Indian Ocean Islands and in South East Asia, and eventually extending its range to temperate regions. It drew global attention due to its explosive onset, extensive geographic distribution, and high morbidity. Since re-emergence, an estimated one million symptomatic cases with 0.1% fatality per year have been reported globally. A lack of herd immunity, vector control, and globalization and trade are clearly a problem in the spread of this disease. The Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has also acquired biologically important mutations during its evolution, increasing its geographic reach. This disease has resulted in a loss of productivity in affected communities. The absence of a vaccine or an effective antiviral therapy makes dealing with this disease challenging for those involved in public health. There is an emergent need for an effective vaccine against CHIKV infection. The candidates that have been tested include attenuated living, nonliving and genetically engineered vaccines. Several of these vaccine candidates are in preclinical and clinical trials. This review outlines the current knowledge about chikungunya infection and vaccine development.

Keywords: Chikungunya, outbreaks, epidemics, genotypes, vaccines, therapy