France: Deadly fever identified (chikungunya)

[DB]

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/N...888380,00.html

Paris - French doctors have identified a mosquito-borne disease, carried into the country by citizens returning from the Indian Ocean region.
France's health minister has blamed the "Chikungunya" fever - for which there is no known cure or vaccine - for directly or indirectly killing 77 people on the French island of La Reunion off the southeast coast of Africa.

French health officials say 157 000 people, about one in five of the population of the island, are now infected with the disease.
Francois Bricaire, head of the infectious diseases service at Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris, said: "We have people returning from La Reunion who have symptoms of chikungunya and their diagnoses has been confirmed.

"It's not surprising, quite simply because of the contacts between the island of La Reunion and mainland France."

He said his service had found about 30 cases, adding it was likely other medical services had detected more.

Bricaire said the disease can only spread via mosquitoes but did not say whether those showing symptoms were being confined or allowed home.
French health minister Xavier Bertrand said the mosquito which carries the virus could be present in south eastern France.
The illness, which has also been found in the nearby Indian Ocean islands of the Seychelles and Mauritius, is marked by high fever and severe rashes. Most people recover although it is extremely painful.

[DB]

Re: France: Deadly fever identified

This is the same virus that has caused 160,000 cases in 6 weeks.

It has infected 25% of the population in 6 weeks.
It has caused work stoppages of 40%+ across the entire island.
Birds are dying across the island.
It is killing people of all ages in perfect health.

Mosquito born diseases do not spread at that rate.
It has never happened. Never.

Now this virus is in Paris, France.

It will be across Europe in weeks.

It is not Chikungunya.

[DerekSmith]

Re: France: Deadly fever identified

77 deaths out of 157,000 seems far too low for flu. Even seasonal flu has a greater fatality rate than this.

However, it is alarming when authorities do not address a glaring disparity, i.e. how did mosquitos manage such an amazing rate of infection in just 6 weeks. Against this disparity, I would have thought it essential to have proven the absence of H5N1 or proven the route by which 157,000 people become infected in just 6 weeks.

Is there any way that we the public can innitiate the testing of samples for H5N1?

Is this sort of assessment something that the public are banned from making?

We can catch H5N1 and we can die from it, but do we have the right to take samples and send them for assay?

Would the labs, able to perform this assay, be prepared to take samples from the public?

Is there any way board members can create a fighting fund to service such assays should we be allowed to make them?

Perhaps if the public (us) start to make assessments, it might put governmental agencies under presure to take samples and to publish results.

If this is the emergence of the Pandemic of 2006 then the French should be accorded all the credit and it should be given the name fitting its country of origin --- French Flu.

[DB]

Re: France: Deadly fever identified

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsAr...VER-FRANCE.xml

PARIS (Reuters) - Doctors in mainland France have detected a mosquito-borne disease among people returning from the Indian Ocean region, where the virus is spreading rapidly, a senior health official said on Saturday.
France's health minister has blamed "Chikungunya" fever, for which there is no known cure or vaccine, for directly or indirectly killing 77 people on the French island of La Reunion off the southeast coast of Africa.
French health officials say 157,000 people have now been infected by the disease on La Reunion, about one in five of the population.
"We have people returning from La Reunion who have symptoms of chikungunya and their diagnoses have been confirmed," Francois Bricaire, head of the infectious diseases service at Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris, told Europe 1 radio.
"It's not surprising, quite simply because of the contacts between the island of La Reunion and mainland France."
He said about 30 cases had been found by his service and it was likely that other medical services had detected cases. The disease can only spread via mosquitoes and Bricaire did not say whether the people with symptoms were confined or allowed home.
Health Minister Xavier Bertrand told Europe 1 that the mosquito, which carries the virus, could be present in southeastern France but gave no details.
The illness, which has also been found in the nearby Indian Ocean islands of the Seychelles and Mauritius, is marked by high fever and severe rashes. Most people recover although it is extremely painful.
The number of people infected in Mauritius has risen to 962 from 341 the previous week, the Mauritius government said.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin is due to travel to La Reunion on Sunday. He faces growing criticism over the failure to prevent the disease spreading and said this week that the entire island should be cleared of mosquitoes.
The spread of chikungunya is likely to increase health concerns in France following confirmation of the presence of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu at a farm in the east of the country where thousands of turkeys died.
First recognized in East Africa in 1952, chikungunya leaves the immune system weak, proving opportunities for other diseases to set in. The name comes from the Swahili for stooped walk, referring to the posture of those afflicted.
La Reunion is a popular tourist destination for European travelers. The Reunion Committee on Tourism has reported tour cancellations but has not provided figures for costs incurred.