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De Villepin at risk
of illness after trip to epidemic isle
By Colin Randall in Paris
(Filed: 04/03/2006)
The French prime minister, Dominique de
Villepin, has returned from the Indian Ocean island of
Réunion, wondering if he has fallen victim to the
mosquito-borne disease, chikungunya.
Mr de Villepin flew back to Paris this
week after visiting the French overseas département,
where he stressed his "solidarity" and announced £60
million aid to fight a local epidemic of the
disease.
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Dominique de Villepin on the island of
Réunion |
His trip lasted only 24 hours, but was
long enough for the flamboyant, silver-haired premier to
be bitten on the hand by a mosquito. He managed a
cheerful smile as he told reporters of his bite. Wary,
however, of an incubation period of a week or more, Mr
de Villepin added: "We'll know in the next few
days."
A quarter of Réunion's 770,000
inhabitants have been infected - most of them in the
past two months, although the earliest cases were
detected a year ago.
Chikungunya sufferers usually recover
after several days of fever, headaches, nausea and joint
and bone pains, which can, in some cases, last for
months. Deaths are not common, but 93 of the 186,000
people to have fallen ill on Réunion have died. The
island's tourism industry has been badly hit.
Far fewer cases have been reported in the
nearby French island of Mayotte, and in the Seychelles,
Madagascar and Mauritius.
A doctor on Réunion said Mr de Villepin
would be "very unlucky" to have caught chikungunya on
such a short visit.
While the French premier awaits the
outcome, he faces another headache - fending off
criticism that his government was too slow to react to
the health crisis in Réunion.
The mosquito that spreads the disease,
Aedes albopictus or Asian tiger mosquito, is prevalent
in parts of the Mediterranean, and scientists cannot
rule out the possibility of a European outbreak this
summer.
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