Alert: Severe cases and deaths associated with Chikungunya in Brazil

Abstract Since the detection of the Chikungunya virus in America in 2013, two million cases of the disease have been notified worldwide. Severe cases and deaths related to Chikungunya have been reported in India and Reunion Island, estimated at 1 death per 1,000 inhabitants. Joint involvement in the acute and chronic phase is the main clinical manifestation associated with Chikungunya. The severity of the infection may be directly attributable to viral action or indirectly, owing to decompensation of preexisting comorbidities. In Brazil, the virus was identified in 2014, and recently, there ha...