Mayaro virus disease: An emerging mosquito-borne zoonosis in tropical South America

This report describes the clinical, laboratory, and epidemiological finding s on 27 cases of Mayaro virus (MV) disease, an emerging mosquito-borne vira l illness that is endemic in rural areas of tropical South America. MV dise ase is a nonfatal, dengue-like illness characterized by fever, chills, head ache, eye pain, generalized myalgia, arthralgia, diarrhea, vomiting, and ra sh of 3-5 days' duration. Severe joint pain is a prominent feature of this illness; the arthralgia sometimes persists for months and can be quite inca pacitating. Cases of two visitors from the United States, who developed MV disease during visits to eastern Peru, are reported. MV disease and dengue are difficult to differentiate clinically.