Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health

The arboviruses that cause dengue, chikungunya, and zika illnesses have rapidly expanded across the globe in recent years, with large-scale outbreaks occurring in Western Hemisphere territories in close proximity to the United States (US). In March 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) expanded its vector surveillance maps for A. aegypti and A. albopictus, the mosquito vectors for these arboviruses. They have now been shown to inhabit a larger portion of the United States, including the heavily populated northeast corridor. Emergency physicians need to further familiarize themselves with these diseases, which have classically been considered only in returning travelers but may soon be encountered in the US even in the absence of travel. In this paper, we discuss the presentation and treatment of dengue, zika, and chikungunya, as well as special challenges presented to the emergency physician in evaluating a patient with a suspected arbovirus infection.