Reunion: Mosquito-Borne Disease Epidemic

By Larry Habegger | Permalink | No Comments | February 7th, 2006 | Trackback

The French Indian Ocean island of Reunion is suffering an epidemic of a crippling mosquito-borne disease called chikungunya, a malady that is not fatal but causes high fever and severe pain, sometimes forcing people to walk doubled-over at the waist. There is no cure or vaccine. The current outbreak began last February but accelerated in December and has now infected 50,000 people, with an increase of 15,000 cases in the past week. Troops have been deployed to spray the entire island for mosquitoes. The disease is also occurring on the Seychelles, where 2,000 cases have been reported, and officials in Madagascar fear it may have reached there as well.

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