Chikungunya is Swahili for "that which bends up"
An epidemic of a crippling and incurable mosquito-borne disease has continued to spread throughout the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, with thousands of new cases reported.
Only in the last week more than 5,600 new cases were reported, taking the total number of people infected by "chikungunya" to 22,167 on the French-ruled island since the beginning of the epidemic last March, said Gilles Brucker, director of a government health monitoring institute on Thursday.
"We should expect that the number of cases will pass 30,000," Brucker said.
Chikungunya is Swahili for "that which bends up" and refers to the stooped posture of those afflicted by the non-fatal disease for which there is no known vaccine or cure.linksquito
Only in the last week more than 5,600 new cases were reported, taking the total number of people infected by "chikungunya" to 22,167 on the French-ruled island since the beginning of the epidemic last March, said Gilles Brucker, director of a government health monitoring institute on Thursday.
"We should expect that the number of cases will pass 30,000," Brucker said.
Chikungunya is Swahili for "that which bends up" and refers to the stooped posture of those afflicted by the non-fatal disease for which there is no known vaccine or cure.linksquito
