France, March 27 -- The authorities on the French overseas territory of Reunion Island have issued a health alert after more than 4,000 new cases of the chikungunya virus were reported in the space of a week

According to La Reunion's police prefecture and regional ARS health agency in a joint statement on Thursday: "The chikungunya epidemic is now widespread throughout the island and is continuing to spread".

Between 10 and 16 March, 4,156 new cases were reported - more than 600 up on the previous week.

"To date, 15 serious cases have been reported, including eight adults and seven newborns," the statement added.

Since August 2024, when the epidemic began on the Indian Ocean territory, 13,594 cases have been reported.

Last week, the ...