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DROUGHT-ASSOCIATED CHIKUNGUNYA EMERGENCE ALONG COASTAL EAST AFRICA

Epidemics of chikungunya fever, an Aedes spp.-borne viral disease, affected hundreds of thousands of people in western Indian Ocean islands and India during 2005–2006. The initial outbreaks occurred in coastal Kenya (Lamu, then Mombasa) in 2004. We investigated eco-climatic conditions associated with chikungunya fever emergence along coastal Kenya using epidemiologic investigations and satellite data. Unusually dry, warm conditions preceded the outbreaks, including the driest since 1998 for some of the coastal regions. Infrequent replenishment of domestic water stores and elevated temperatures may have facilitated Chikungunya virus transmission. These results suggest that drought-affected populations may be at heightened risk for chikungunya fever, and underscore the need for safe water storage during drought relief operations.

Received November 2, 2006. Accepted for publication November 21, 2006.

Acknowledgments: The authors thank the Kenya Ministry of Health and the staff of Lamu District Hospital for collaborating on this study.

Financial support: This study was supported by the Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections Surveillance & Response System.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here belong to the authors and are not necessarily the official views of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, or the U.S. Department of Defense.

^* Address correspondence to Jean-Paul Chretien, Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections Surveillance & Response System, Division of Preventive Medicine, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910-7500. E-mail: Jean-Paul.Chretien{at}na.amedd.army.mil.

Authors’ addresses: Jean-Paul Chretien, Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections Surveillance & Response System, Division of Preventive Medicine, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910-7500, Telephone: 301-319-9418, Fax: 301-319-9213, E-mail: Jean-Paul.Chretien{at}na.amedd.army.mil. Assaf Anyamba and Jennifer Small, Goddard Earth Sciences & Technology Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Bldg. 33, Rm. G109 (MC 923.0), Greenbelt, MD 20771, Telephone: 301-614-6601, Fax: 301-614-6699, E-mails: Assaf{at}ltpmail.gsfc.nasa.gov, and jsmall{at}pop900.gsfc.nasa.gov. Sheryl A. Bedno, Unit 64109 Box 401, APO AE 09831-4109, Telephone: +254-20-272-9303, Fax: +254-20-272-4592, E-mail: sbedno{at}wrp-nbo.org. Robert F. Breiman, CDC-KEMRI, Unit 64112, APO AE 09831-4112, Nairobi, Kenya, Telephone: +254-20-271-3008 x166, Fax: +254-20-271-4745, E-mail: RBreiman{at}ke.cdc.gov. Rosemary Sang, KEMRI, P.O. Box 54840,00200, Nairobi, Kenya, Telephone: +254-20-722541, Fax: +254-20-720030, E-mail: Rsang{at}kemri.org. Kibet Sergon, CDC-KEMRI, Unit 64112, APO AE 09831-4112, Nairobi, Kenya, Telephone: +254-20-271-3008, Fax: +254-20-271-4745, E-mail: kibetsergon{at}yahoo.com. Ann M. Powers, Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Foothills Campus / Rampart Road, Telephone: 970-266-3535, Fax: 970-266-3599, E-mail: akp7{at}cdc.gov. Clayton O. Onyango, MRC-Fajara Laboratories, P.O Box 273 Banjul, The Gambia, West Africa, Telephone: +220-449-5442/6 Ext 345, Fax: +220-449-5919, E-mail: conyango{at}mrc.gm. Compton J. Tucker, Code 614.0, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, Telephone: 301-614-6644, Fax: 301-614-6695/9, E-mail: compton{at}ltpmailx.gsfc.nasa.gov. Kenneth J. Linthicum, USDA-Center for Medical, Agricultural & Veterinary Entomology, 1600/1700 S.W. 23rd Drive, Gainesville, Florida 32608, Telephone: 352-374-5700, Fax: 352-374-5850, E-mail: klinthicum{at}gainesville.usda.ufl.edu.

Reprint requests: Jean-Paul Chretien, Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections Surveillance & Response System, Division of Preventive Medicine, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910-7500, E-mail: Jean-Paul.Chretien{at}na.amedd.army.mil.

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