Nanotechnology: A promising approach of antiviral treatments against chikungunya virus (CHIKV)

Abstract

Following its emergence in Africa, spread to the Indian Ocean islands in 2006, and occurrences in regions of the world where it hadn’t been reported in the past, Chikungunya has become an emerging public health concern in many countries. The past outbreaks of the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) have caused widespread morbidity and mortality. No specific antiviral remedy against chikungunya is presently available and therapy only involves treating its symptoms and may involve side-effects. For instance, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be used to treat chikungunya-related arthritis, but can cause extremely adverse effects such as haemorrhage, especially when co-infected with dengue. Hence, there is an urgent need to devise novel strategies to combat this disease. Nanotechnology is an emerging discipline that has the ability to transform the diagnosis and treatment of viruses and other microbial pathogens. A vast number of promising antiviral treatments involving nanotechnology are currently under investigation. In this review, we provide a brief overview of this disease over the years and the current treatments available to alleviate the symptoms of chikungunya. We then summarize prospective treatments integrating the ever-expanding field of nanotechnology that have proven to be successful against other viruses such as HIV, Influenza virus and HSV, with the objective of showing that these can potentially be developed as anti-CHIKV therapy.