Chikungunya epidemic! What are the symptoms of the disease?

Chikungunya is a virus that causes fever, severe joint pain, bruises on the skin. The infection can lead to chronic complications and even the death of the patient.

An epidemic of chikungunya has broken out in Réunion, the French island in the Indian Ocean. The first cases appeared last summer and then multiplied, forcing the authorities to take action. The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes infected with the chikungunya virus (CHIKV).

Health alert to stop the spread of the epidemic

Local authorities have activated the crisis management system. As of August 23, 2024, the island of nearly 900,000 inhabitants has registered 192 cases of this mosquito-borne disease, according to Le Figaro, according to AFP.

“Due to the increase in the number of cases and the dispersion of the outbreaks, Patrice Latron, the prefect of La Réunion, triggers level 3 of the ORSEC Arboviruses system, which corresponds to the circulation of an epidemic of intensity,” the prefecture wrote in a statement.

260,000 people, infected

The towns in the south of the island are the most affected by the virus, the authorities say. Cases have also been reported in a resort on the west coast.

The government wants to avoid a repeat of the chikungunya epidemic of 2005 and 2006, when around 260,000 people, a third of the island’s population, were infected with the virus and 225 died from the disease.

Globally, the disease affects more than 1 million people each year, according to the website European Climate and Health Observatory.

In Europe, chikungunya is spread mostly by travelers. The disease has similar symptoms (fever and joint pain) to other viral diseases with an overlapping geographic distribution, such as dengue. Therefore, many patients are misdiagnosed and the socio-economic impact and overall burden of disease is likely underestimated.