High Dose Intraveneous Vitamin C and Chikungunya Fever: A Case Report

The Chikungunya (CHIKV) fever is a viral disease producted by single-stranded RNA Alphavirus from the Togaviridae genus. Its transformation occurs only through mosquito vectors, principally Aedes aegypti. It requires a humna-mosquito-human transmission cycle. It is associated with severe arthrit30.95is/arthralgias, myalgias, high fever, headache and maculopapular rash. Joint ache appears to be symmetrical. The virus has an incubation period of 2 to 7 days, where the high fever is typically presented. It is followed by arthralgias and myalgias, and rashes, which last for 3 to 5 days. However, the arthralgias can persist for months afte the infection, which can contribute to severe arthritis. As of now, no vaccine exists for the virus and no official treatment has been developed aside from standard procedures of the use of acetaminophen (paracetamol), and non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drugs. This is a case report of a 54-year old Hispanic individual that reported left shoulder pain, left knee pain and fever. The symptoms started on a Saturday in September 2014 in middle of the night. The patient was treated with high doses of Intravenous Vitamin C over two days. The symptoms resolved after the infusions without any side effects. Based on the positive outcome in this case, we propose that intravenous Vitamin C should be studied further as a potential treatment for acute viral infections.