- PARIS (AFP) - Doctors on
the Indian Ocean island of Reunion are battling an epidemic of a crippling
mosquito-borne disease that has no known cure, French Health Minister Xavier
Bertrand said.
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- About 7,200 cases of "chikungunya" had been
recorded, including 1,600 cases last week alone, the minister told the
French upper house.
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- "It is a major public-health issue," he told
senators.
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- 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.
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- Authorities on the volcanic island east of Madagascar,
a French overseas department with a population of 760,000, have earmarked
600,000 euros (720,000 dollars) to fight the outbreak, including special
mosquito-eradication brigades.
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