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Ross river fever (epidemic polyarthritis)
Etiology:
- Ross river virus
Epidemiology:
- transmitted by mosquitoes
- endemic to Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, the Cook Islands, New Caledonia and several other islands in the South Pacific.
- main reservoirs are kangaroos & wallabies
- horses, possums & possibly birds & flying foxes play a role
- mosquito vectors include
- Culex annulirostris in inland areas
- Aedes vigilax in northern coastal regions
- Aedes camptorhynchus in southern coastal regions
Laboratory:
- serology for Ross river virus
- Ross river virus RNA
Clinical manifestations:
- ~ 1/3 of infections are asymptomatic, especially in children
- flu-like symptoms are common
- fever
- headache
- myalgias, arthralgias (polyarthritis)
- sweating
- morning stiffness
- rash is common
- usually on the trunk or extremities, but can occur elsewhere
- rash generally resolved in 7-10 days
- purpura may be noted
- fatigue, inability to concentrate, dythymia
- school or work performance can be affected
- after a few weeks most of these symptoms resolve
- myalgias, arthralgias & morning stiffness may return for periods of time, even after the virus is gone
Management:
- treatment is symptomatic
- no vaccine is available
Related
Ross river virus
General
mosquito borne infection
References
- Ross River Virus (Epidemic polyarthritis)
Adelaide Hills Council
http://www.ahc.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=608
- Wikipedia: Ross River Fever
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_River_fever
- Factsheet: Ross River Fever
http://www0.health.nsw.gov.au/factsheets/infectious/rossriver.html