Chikungunya is a re-emerging viral infection worldwide and India is seeing outbreaks almost every year reported in several parts of the country, with significant number of morbidities. Despite ongoing efforts to produce an effective vaccine against the infectious agent, the presence of multiple subtypes makes it a challenging task. Although the number of Chikungunya infections has gradually increased over time, there is relatively little information on the genetic variation of the circulating strains in India. Added to this is the lack of data and relatively little evidence on the immune response of a convalescent individual, making it difficult to understand the effects of a vaccination, when one is available.

In order to address these challenges the Translational 沙巴体育 Consortia (TRC) for Chikungunya Virus was formed by 沙巴体育 Institute of Virology, MAHE, in collaboration with 6 other partners: 沙巴体育 Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in New Delhi, Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) in Bhubaneshwar, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhubaneshwar, Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and 沙巴体育 (PGIMER) in Chandigarh, and the Topiwala National Memorial Hospital (TNMC and BYL Nair Charitable Hospital). Clinical sites for the research project are spread across the country in nine Indian states: Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Odisha, Gujarat, Tripura, Assam, and Chandigarh. The research study will take 48 months to complete (start date: 30 May 2019; expected completion date: 29 May 2023). The Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, has supported this research study through Biotechnology Industry 沙巴体育 Assistance Council (BIRAC).

This research consortia strives to establish a biobank of circulating Chikungunya viral strains in India, along with a serum bank of na?ve, early stage acute infection and convalescent samples to understand the differences in the immune status. To understand the modulation in the immune responses of chikungunya infected individuals; the inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and growth factor levels will be measured at different stages of the infection along with T-cell and B-cell phenotyping. With the proposed objectives, the consortia will be able to sketch a complete immune profiling of acute and chronic infections. The source of these samples will be patients coming to the participatory hospitals who will be followed up with regular collection of samples. The circulating viral strains isolated from infected individuals will be sequenced to identify subtypes and mutations within the Indian subcontinent and will be used to develop standardized high throughput assays for viral quantification and infectivity. An animal model of Chikungunya will also be developed to understand the disease progression in acute and chronic stages of infection and correlated with symptoms in humans.