The Réunion Regional Health Agency has recorded nine cases of chikungunya in Réunion. All are located in the west of the island. The ARS recommends that doctors prescribe tests in the event of symptoms.
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Published on October 4, 2024 at 4:54 p.m.,
updated October 4, 2024 at 4:55 p.m.
Seven cases are grouped together in the same outbreak in the West, in Saint-Gilles-les-Bains. The other two, reported at the Hermitage, are not connected.
Since August 23, several indigenous cases of chikungunya have been reported in Reunion. Nine cases were confirmed by PCR test, including 8 by the CNR. The last known dates back to September 19.
Measures to prospect for larval breeding sites are put in place around each case by ARS vector control agents. The search for suspected cases in the area concerned has also been activated to reduce the risk of the installation of local traffic.
If the number of mosquitoes remains limited at the end of the southern winter, the arrival of conditions more favorable to their proliferation encourages those involved to be extremely vigilant.
The ARS invites doctors to prescribe tests to confirm or refute the diagnosis in all patients presenting with flu-like syndrome with joint pain. PCR must be performed within the first 8 days of diagnosis. Next comes confirmation by analysis.
Between 2005 and 2006, Reunion Island experienced two successive epidemic waves of chikungunya, including a massive one in the summer of 2006. 38% of the population was affected by this epidemic, or more than 250,000 cases out of 700,000 inhabitants.
Between March 2005 and April 2006, 834 typical cases, including 247 serious cases, and 68 deaths were recorded. The ARS specifies that “the infection being considered immunizing, it is reasonable to believe that residual but not quantified immunity exists in the population”.
