Chikungunya impact on kidney, brain & other vital organs frequent, say Kolkata docs

Kolkata: Chikungunya has been affecting vital organs like the kidney and the brain, which is unusual, say doctors in Kolkata. Complications like kidney injury and chikungunya encephalitis have been observed in many patients suffering from the mosquito-borne disease over the last two weeks. Joint pain is one of the most formidable ramifications of this disease. But doctors said the complications, involving various organs, were now being detected frequently.

"I have seen three chikungunya patients with kidney involvement recently, unlike the previous years.A woman in her mid-60s, who was admitted on Sunday, with an acute confusional state, also tested positive for chikungunya. Some faint red rashes made me suspect. The samples were tested for chikungunya, suggesting the virus has affected the brain," said internal medicine specialist, Rahul Jain, of Belle Vue Clinic.

Caused by the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito, typical symptoms of this viral infection include fever, joint pain, and rashes. Acute complications being detected this year among such patients is concerning doctors.

Infectious diseases specialist Yogiraj Ray said he had recentlytreated a chikungunya patient withencephalitis. "He responded well with supportive care. These are rare complications but can happen in a few cases," said Ray, an associate professor of infectious diseases at IPGMER.

While dengue numbers remained largely low this time, doctors are seeing a higher number of chikungunya cases. "The higher number of chikungunya cases this year could leave more patients vulnerable to such complications," said Sayan Chakraborty, infectious diseases specialist at Manipal Dhakuria.

Dibyendu Mukherjee, director of internal medicine at Fortis Hospital Kolkata, said he came across two patients whose kidney function was impacted by elevated creatinine levels due to chikungunya. "While chikungunya does not directly affect the kidneys, it leads to typical symptoms like fever, platelet count drop, skin rashes, and elevated creatinine levels, which can indirectly impact kidney function. However, there is no direct link between chikungunya and kidney damage," said Upal Sengupta, director of nephrology at Fortis Kolkata. Internal medicine specialist Chandramouli Mukherjee of Peerless Hospitals said a good number of chikungunya cases were being reported for over a month.