Molecular epidemiology, evolution and phylogeny of Chikungunya virus: an updating review

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus belonging to the Togaviridae family, causing a febrile illness associated with severe arthralgia and rash. In this review, we summarized a series of articles published from 2013 to 2016 concerning CHIKV epidemiology, phylogeny, vaccine and therapies, to give an update of our most recent article written in 2014 (Lo Presti et al.,2014). CHIKV infection was first reported in 1952 from Makonde plateaus and since this time caused many outbreaks worldwide, involving the Indian Ocean region, African countries, American continent and Italy. CHIKV infection is still underestimated and it is normally associated with clinical symptoms overlapping with dengue virus, recurring epidemics and mutations within the viral genome. These characteristics promote the geographical spread and the inability to control vector-mediated transmission of the virus. For these reasons, the majority of studies were aimed to describe outbreaks and to enhance knowledge on CHIKV biology, pathogenesis, infection treatment, and prevention. In this review, 16 studies on CHIKV phylogenetic and phylodinamics were considered, during the years 2013-2016. Phylogenetic and phylodinamic analysis are useful tools to investigate how the genealogy of a pathogen population is influenced by pathogen's demographic history, host immunological milieu and environmental/ecological factors. Phylogenetic tools were revealed important to reconstruct the geographic spread of CHIKV during the epidemics wave and to have information on the circulating strains of the virus, that are important for the prediction and control of the epidemics, as well as for vaccines and antiviral drugs development. In conclusion, this updating review can give a critical appraisal of the epidemiology, therapeutic and phylogenesis of CHIKV, reinforcing the need to monitor the geographic spread of virus and vectors.