Ayurvedic insight: Traversing chikungunya with traditional healing

Abstract

Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, especially by Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus variety. It belongs to the family of Togaviridae. Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), was first identified in Tanzania and later it was identified in India. The outbreaks of CHIKV have become more widespread in almost 110 countries. The symptoms usually occur two to twelve days after the bite and it includes fever and severe joint pain. Till date, there is no vaccination or proper treatment available worldwide. In Ayurveda, there is no direct reference is available but a trace of some shows that chikungunya can be correlated with Sandhigata Sannipataja Jwara. The treatment of chikungunya typically focuses on managing symptoms with its different modalities of treatment among which Bharangyadi kashayam plays a significant role in reducing the signs and symptoms.