UN health agency chief investigates Chikungunya outbreak in Mauritius

The head of the United Nations health agency has arrived in Mauritius to check on an outbreak of the mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus which has reached over 2500 cases, according to an agency spokesperson.

Lee Jong-wook, the Director-General of the UN World Health Organization (WHO), is in the midst of country visits in East Africa and the Indian Ocean, where the disease, which has no known cure and causes high fever, dehydration and severe pain, has begun to spread rapidly.

Approximately 2400 cases of the disease have been reported on Reunion Island , although it was thought that close to 157,000 people had been infected since March 2005, WHO spokesperson Fadela Chaib said in Geneva today.

Elsewhere in the Indian Ocean, other areas that have reported cases since mid-January include Mayotte, with 924 cases, and Seychelles with 4,650. Earlier in the week Dr. Lee visited Madagascar, which has reported a few fresh cases of the disease.

WHO has deployed a team to the region to evaluate the measures undertaken to fight the disease. Dr. Lee returns to Geneva Friday.