A first vaccine against chikungunya available in France after the green light from the European Union

Valvena France announced on Wednesday November 20 the availability in France of the first vaccine against chikungunya. IXCHIQ is a live attenuated vaccine, that is to say it is made up of viruses, modified so that it loses its infectious power while retaining its capacity to induce protection in the vaccinated person.

the tiger mosquito – and Aedes aegypti. The first species is present in mainland France, the second in the Antilles, Guyana, French Polynesia and New Caledonia, specifies the Pasteur Institute.

Disabling and sometimes chronic symptoms

Rarely fatal, chikungunya nevertheless causes joint damage, sometimes very disabling. They affect the wrists, fingers, ankles, feet, knees, sometimes the hips and shoulders. Associated with this are fever, severe muscle pain, rash, and inflammation of the cervical lymph nodes. Severe forms are neurological; meningoencephalitis and peripheral nerve damage. The chronic form of the disease, which can persist for months or even years, affects 43% of symptomatic people (around 75% of infected people).

High risk of an epidemic in mainland France

Chikungunya is a tropical disease, clearly increasing throughout the world, America, Africa, southeast Asia but also in Europe. According to ANSES, the probability of an epidemic of dengue, Zika or chikungunya occurring within 5 years in France is considered quite “high”.

The vaccine received European marketing authorization in July 2024: 98.9% of participants presented virus-neutralizing antibodies 28 days after vaccination. They were 96.3% 6 months later.

According to an OpinionWay survey carried out for Valvena France, 56% of French people said they would be ready to be vaccinated if vaccination against chikungunya was possible.

The vaccine is not reimbursed by Health Insurance and, to date, no opinion has been issued by the High Health Authority concerning it.