Health chiefs on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion on Sunday called for more doctors and medicines to help them combat an epidemic of the mosquito-borne chikungunya disease.
"We are really stretched to our limits," hospitals boss Lionel Calenge told the French broadcaster RMC.
"Epidemiologists predicted the epidemic peak would hit in mid-April, and here we are."
An epidemic was declared on Réunion Island on 13 January, following a surge in cases that began in August 2024.
Health officials linked the outbreak to rising mosquito numbers during the summer and low immunity levels in the island’s population of around 900,000.
Since the start of the year, chikungunya has killed six people on the island. Around one in nine people is believed to have been affected.
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Calenge said that the four hospitals he administers had received three back-up doctors. But Calenge said he wants six more.
"We've recruited paramedics, nurses and paramedical staff, but we've had more difficulty finding doctors," he added.
"Every day for several weeks now, we have been receiving between 30 and 40 patients suffering from chikungunya in our two emergency departments. It is putting a strain on our capacity."
Around 300 scheduled operations have been postponed due to the demand on beds and staff have been called back from leave to cope with the outbreak.
Calenge's appeal went out a day before the French president Emmanuel Macron was due to leave for a five-day tour of Indian Ocean territories, including a stop in Reunion on Tuesday.
Spread by Aedes mosquitoes, it is the first major outbreak of chikungunya on Reunion Island since 2010.
The disease causes fever, a rash and joint pain and can be particularly dangerous for older people, pregnant women, babies and those with chronic illnesses.
A previous epidemic in 2005 and 2006 infected around 260,000 people and led to 225 deaths.
There is no specific treatment for chikungunya and most people recover in about a week, although some experience joint pain that can last for months.
Since the start of the year, 262 imported cases have been identified in mainland France in people who had travelled from Reunion Island.
Health authorities have advised residents to protect themselves from mosquito bites and to remove standing water where mosquitoes can breed.
