Saturday, February 25, 2006

77 dead from fever on French island

(Le Reunion is situated south of the African continent, and a few hundred kilometres from ports such as Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.)

by Andy Stenton
Feb. 25 - A mosquito-borne disease is blamed for the the deaths of 77 people on the Indian Ocean island of Le Reunion.

"Chikungunya" fever has affected one in six of the population of three quarters of a million.

There is no known cure or vaccine.

It is an extremely painful illness with high fever and severe rashes.

The nearby islands of Seychelles and Mauritius have also recorded cases.

Click on this post to link to the video coverage.

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