[Chikungunya virus: its recent spread to the southern Indian Ocean and Reunion Island (2005-2006)].

Chikungunya virus (alphavirus, Togaviridae) is transmitted by mosquitoes of the Aedes genus and responsible for a dengue-like acute disease characterized by severe arthralgias sometimes persisting during months and eventually years. Its geographical distribution is large, including west, central, east and southern tropical Africa, India and South-eastern Asia. Since 2005 february, Chikungunya disease invaded a number of islands in southern Indian Ocean, namely Comoro, Mauritius, Seychelles and Reunion islands. In this French department, it was responsible for 110000 to 200000 infections, neurological disorders, many deaths and some congenital infections not previously observed during preceding epidemics.