AFRICA/REUNION - 204,000 people about one third of the population affected by chikungunya virus “bending disease” which strikes like dengue

Moroni (Fides Service) - In the French island of Reunion, near Madagascar, already 5,049 cases of chikungunya have been registered in a serious outbreak of the virus which started in March 2005.
According to the World Health Organisation about one third of the population of 705,000, 204,000 people have been infected and 148 have died either directly or indirectly from the virus.
The disease similar to dengue is not always properly diagnosed. Like dengue it also causes fever, pain in joints and bones, headache and limited movement hence its name chikungunya in Swahili, ‘bending disease’. Carried by Aedes Albopictus and Aedes Aegypti infected mosquitoes the virus symptoms appear a week after the person has been bitten.
Cases of chikungunya are also reported in Mauritius, Comores and Seychelles and southern India, where another 31,000 people have been infected and in the Maldives. In India, cases are registered in Andra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra and Karnataka states. In Malaysia, 200 cases have been reported in the state of Perak, north of Kuala Lumpur. The Seychelles (80,000 pop.), reported 8,818 suspected cases between 1 January and 26 February and 158 cases from 29 March to 2 April. In Madagascar (18 million pop.), 2 confirmed cases in Toamasina.
Chikungunya is endemic in India, Malaysia, Reunion, Madagascar, Indonesia, Mauritius, Mayotte, Seychelles), where the virus finds its ideal habitat.
There exists no vaccine or specific medicine for the disease which lasts for a few weeks. (AP) (25/4/2006 Agenzia Fides; Righe:29; Parole:342)