<unk>  is diagnosed on the basis of clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory criteria. Clinically, acute onset of high fever and severe joint pain would lead to suspicion of<unk> . Epidemiological criteria consist of whether the individual has traveled to or spent time in an area in which<unk>  is present within the last twelve days (i.e.) the potential incubation period). Laboratory criteria include a decreased lymphocyte count consistent with viremia. However a definitive laboratory diagnosis can be accomplished through viral isolation, RT-PCR, or serological diagnosis. The differential diagnosis may include other mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue or malaria, or other infections such as influenza. Chronic recurrent polyarthralgia occurs in at least 20% of<unk>  patients one year after infection, whereas such symptoms are uncommon in dengue. Virus isolation provides the most definitive diagnosis, but takes one to two weeks for completion and must be carried out in biosafety level III laboratories. The technique involves exposing specific cell lines to samples from whole blood and identifying<unk>  virus-specific responses. RT-PCR using nested primer pairs is used to amplify several<unk> -specific genes from whole blood, generating thousands to millions of copies of the genes in order to identify them. RT-PCR can also be used to quantify the viral load in the blood. Using RT-PCR, diagnostic results can be available in one to two days. Serological diagnosis requires a larger amount of blood than the other methods, and uses an ELISA assay to measure<unk> -specific IgM levels in the blood serum. One advantage offered by serological diagnosis is that serum IgM is detectable from 5 days to months after the onset of symptoms, but drawbacks are that results may require two to three days, and false positives can occur with infection due to other related viruses, such as o'nyong'nyong virus and Semliki Forest virus. Presently, there is no specific way to test for chronic signs and symptoms associated with<unk>  fever although nonspecific laboratory findings such as C reactive protein and elevated cytokines can correlate with disease activity.
Chikungunya
Zika fever
Yellow fever
Dengue fever
Trench fever
Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Cuban fever
Blackwater fever