INDIAN OCEAN: Islands struggle to keep Chikungunya outbreak in check

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

JOHANNESBURG, 28 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Mosquito-borne Chikungunya fever is spreading among Indian Ocean islands with authorities fighting to contain the virus on La Reunion, Mauritius and the Seychelles, and with Madagascar and the Comoros feared to be next.

“La Reunion has registered approximately 150,000 cases, and now there are 22,000 new cases coming in every week. In Mauritius we now have 1,268 confirmed cases,” said Amita Pathack, regional public health superintendent at the Mauritius Ministry of Health.

The Seychelles has recorded approximately 3,000 cases since July last year, according to a health ministry spokesperson.

Dr Mamadou Ball, World Health Organization (WHO) representative in the Comoros, said Chikungunya can spread around the Indian Ocean Islands very easily “because there is so much movement of people between them, particularly for trade and for tourism - the plane to La Reunion is always full.”

Despite reports from La Reunion - an overseas French department - that directly or indirectly links Chikungunya to 77 deaths, WHO says it does not believe the virus is fatal. Health experts do, however, warn that it can weaken the immune system, providing opportunities for other diseases to set in.

There is no vaccine or treatment for Chikungunya, Swahili for ‘that which bends up’ referring to the stooped posture of those afflicted by the disease. According to WHO, the main preventative measure is to stop proliferation of mosquitoes by reducing their breeding grounds.

Recently, both Mauritius and the Seychelles have seen encouraging signs and believe the outbreak is being contained. “It’s still early days to be sure but the figures seem to be abating, this would mean that the disease is coming under control,” Patheck said.

“We have put several measures in place including surveillance, vector [mosquito] control and an information campaign,” she commented. “Surveillance starts at the airport, where every single person coming from an Indian Ocean Island, and we get around 400 a day, is put under surveillance.”

An information campaign has also been launched along an extensive clean-up operation focused on “removing any potential breeding ground for mosquitoes,” said Patheck.

In the Seychelles, a similar clean-up and spraying campaign and helped by the end of the rains five weeks ago, “have resulted in a dramatic decrease in the amount of new cases,” said a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

[ENDS]