Se Asian J Trop Med
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The first reported case of chikungunya virus diagnosed by serology in Thailand was in 1960 and the last one was in 1991. The disease surveillance system does not specifically include chikungunya cases and the signs and symptoms are similar to these of dengue fever/dengue hemorrhagic fever (DF/DHF), rubella, and fever of unknown origin (FUO); thus cases might often be reported under those diagnoses. During the rainy season of 1995 (Jun-Aug), there were at least 2 reported chikungunya outbreaks which might indicate that it is a re-emerging disease in Thailand. ⋯ In the Nong Khai outbreak, blood specimens were taken at the 3-5th day after onset and therefore the proportion of positive results was low. IgM antibody of follow-up cases declined within 3 months, villagers from all three areas with outbreaks mentioned that they had no previous experience of this disease. This suggests that chikungunya infection is a re-emerging disease.