Two people aged 86 and 96 have died from chikungunya in Réunion, the first confirmed deaths since the outbreak in August 2024, which has been accelerating on the Indian Ocean island since the beginning of the month.
“ The Prefect of Réunion and the Regional Health Agency deplore two deaths that occurred last week.", the prefecture indicated in a press release, specifying that the " necessary recourse to several experts " to analyze the causes of death explained the gap between these deaths and the announcement.
The statement said the two deceased were " two people aged 86 and 96, one of whom had comorbidities"These deaths come as the chikungunya epidemic" has accelerated in recent weeks and is now spreading throughout the country", adds the prefecture.
Since August 2024, more than 8,500 indigenous (non-imported) cases have been recorded, including nearly 3,000 for the week of March 3 to 9 alone, according to the latest health report from the ARS, published on March 19.
The ARS specifies, however, " that no tension affects the hospital environment at this stage", only 24 people have been hospitalized since August 2024. The health impact of the disease, transmitted by the tiger mosquito, remains limited and far removed from the 2005-2006 epidemic which marked Reunion, affecting 260,000 people, or a third of the island's population, and killing 225 people.
Read alsoChikungunya in Reunion: a vaccination campaign will target those most at risk
Orsec Plan
Having been urgently contacted by the government, the High Authority for Health recommended in early March that priority be given to vaccinating seniors over 65, adults with comorbidities (high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.) and mosquito control workers on the French island.
For " limit serious forms and the health impact of the epidemic, exceptional funding " will be unlocked " quickly " in order to " offer free vaccination to priority targets " in Reunion Island, the Ministry of Health told AFP. The first vaccine against chikungunya, Ixchiq, from the Franco-Austrian laboratory Valneva, obtained marketing authorization in Europe for adults in June 2024.
Since the beginning of the year, some 150 ARS vector control agents, supplemented by municipal staff, have also been mobilized daily to carry out mosquito control operations, according to the prefecture and the ARS. Last week, the island's prefect, Patrice Latron, triggered level 4 of the Orsec plan, corresponding to a "medium-intensity epidemic" and requiring greater mobilization of public actors to contain the epidemic.
According to Xavier de Paris, director of health monitoring at the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Réunion, the chikungunya positivity rate in laboratories is currently 60% in Réunion. The epidemic, which started in the south of the island, particularly in the commune of Le Tampon, which remains the most affected area, has gradually spread to affect the entire island.
But until then, the spread of chikungunya had not alerted residents, who seemed unconcerned by the epidemic, which had caused rare hospitalizations. The situation has changed rapidly since the announcement of the two deaths Friday morning, an AFP journalist noted. On social media, posts oscillate between disbelief, calls for caution, and distrust of the proposed vaccine.
Prior to the current outbreak, no cases of chikungunya had been reported in Réunion since 2010. A generally benign viral disease, chikungunya causes a sudden fever accompanied by intense muscle and joint pain. However, complications—neurological, muscular, cardiovascular—and even death can occur, and symptoms can persist for more than three months.
English 
French