Background
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), is a member of the genus Alphavirus, and family Togaviridae. It is an RNA virus with a positive-sense single-stranded genome of about 11.6kb. It is a member of the Semliki Forest virus complex and is closely related to O'nyong'nyong virus, Ross River virus and Semliki Forest virus. Handling of CHIKV requires biosafety level III precautions.