CHIKV infection leads to lasting immunity, that is, the same person will only be able to do once the disease.

The spontaneous course of the disease is most often favorable, but it can progress to a chronic form, with prolonged fatigue for several months and / or the persistence of joint pain (in 20% of cases) for months or years. sometimes very troublesome in everyday life.

Damage to other organs is possible:

– neurological damage of the Guillain-Barré syndrome type (damage to the peripheral nerves responsible for paralysis, muscle weakness or sensation disorders with, for example, tingling in the arms and legs). A few cases of meningoencephalitis were observed during the epidemic in La Réunion.

– damage to the eyes: conjunctivitis healing spontaneously, loss of vision.

– complications in the kidney, liver or heart are exceptional.

It would seem that the pain associated with CHIKV mainly focuses on organs or areas already weakened by pathology, trauma or previous intervention.