A mosquito-borne disease called chikungunya has killed two elderly people on France's Reunion Island, local authorities said on Friday.
An 86-year-old and a 96-year-old died last week from the virus, which causes fever and severe joint pain.
Nearly 9,000 cases have been reported on the French Indian Ocean island since August 2024.
With infections rising earlier this month, local officials activated Orsec Plan 4 – an emergency response for medium-intensity epidemics.
"The epidemic has accelerated in recent weeks and is now spreading throughout the country," authorities said on Friday.
Health response
Health workers have been deployed across the island alongside municipal teams to carry out daily fumigation operations. Around 150 medical personnel are involved in the response.
Officials have advised vulnerable people to get vaccinated.
The chikungunya virus is spread by two species of mosquito, which also transmit dengue and Zika. The disease is not usually fatal, but can be dangerous for older people or those with other health conditions.
The name “chikungunya” comes from the Kimakonde language of southern Tanzania. It means “to become contorted” and refers to the bent posture of people suffering from joint pain caused by the virus.
Reunion experienced a major outbreak in 2005 and 2006, when around 240,000 people were infected and 225 died. Until this current wave, no chikungunya cases had been recorded on the island since 2010.
Vaccine trial
In June 2023, Franco-Austrian drugmaker Valneva published encouraging results from a vaccine trial.
The randomised, placebo-controlled phase three trial tested a live-attenuated vaccine – which uses a weakened version of the virus – to see how well it triggered an immune response.
Out of a subgroup of 266 people who received the vaccine, 263 – or 99 percent – developed antibodies that could neutralise the chikungunya virus, said the study, which was published in The Lancet journal.
In a larger trial involving 4,100 healthy adults, the single-shot vaccine was found to be “generally safe”, with side effects similar to other vaccines.
Only two participants developed serious side effects linked to the vaccine, and both made a full recovery.
