According to several local and national media, the Regional Health Agency of the Occitanie Region confirmed this Monday, June 16 that a case of Chikungunya had been detected in the Montpellier region. The patient in question did not have recently traveled in a tropical country, so this is a so -called case “native”, Where the disease has been contracted on French soil.
This is already the second time that a case of this kind has been referenced in mainland France since the beginning of the year. South West Recalls that a first report had emerged in the Var last week. A worrying trend, insofar as it shows the ability of the virus to be transmitted locally through the Tiger mosquitonow well established in the region.
Should we fear an epidemic?
In the current state of things, there is No reason to fear a major epidemic in the south of France, and even less throughout the territory. Do not panic, therefore: no need to barricade yourself at home all summer. At this level, the French of metropolis are much better off than the inhabitants of Reunion or Mayotte, where thousands of people have been contaminated since the start of the Anne according to Public health France.
But that does not mean that these few isolated cases must be taken lightly. Everyone’s investment is important to avoid the transmission of this disease, for which there is not yet specific antiviral treatment, and which often has a considerable impact on the lives of affected patients.
A big prevention effort
As a reminder, this insect from Asia is an essential link in the virus transmission chain, which cannot be transmitted directly from one human to another. It is therefore on this animal that specialists focus to cut short the spread of the disease. According to The Dauphiné“The Interdepartmental Agreement for Demoustication of the Mediterranean Littoral (EID-MED) is currently carrying out intensive demustication operations around the home of the infected person”, In Prades-le-Lez.
This program to combat the tiger mosquito and the disease it transmits is divided into several distinct actions. The first is the direct elimination of insects – but the authorities will obviously not be able to eradicate the entire population.
The ARS therefore insists on the role of the population, which can also take a number of preventive measures to avoid massive proliferation. It starts with the fact of Knowing how to identify the symptoms of chikungunya.
As a reminder, the disease is generally manifested by the sudden appearance of a high fever accompanied by aches, joint pain, headache, nausea and big fatigue. If you live in an area concerned, it would therefore be wise to contact a healthcare professional as soon as one or more of these symptoms appear, and this as soon as possible.
However, the top priority remains Deprive the tiger mosquito from its favorite breeding sites To avoid massive proliferation. In practice, this consists first of conscientiously emptying all the reservoirs of stagnant water where mosquitoes would be likely to deposit larvae: saucers under the pots of flowers, fountains and non -maintained basins, pets of pets, clogged gutters, and so on.
In parallel, it is also desirable to Limit the risk of bite as much as possible. For this, it is useful to put in place some simple but effective measures, such as limiting exposure of the skin with long clothes or using anti -mosquito repellents.
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