It is quite rare to see Mauritius in international news on television. But it seems the chikungunya virus has changed some habits. Mauritius has been pinpointed as a place where there are potential risks of being contaminated by the virus. Some people have even been accusing the country of hiding the real statistics of people affected with the disease to spare the tourist industry? Where is the truth?

The reality is that, even if there is no epidemic, chikungunya is definitely infecting more people everyday. From 341 cases a week ago, official statistics reveal that the number of people affected by the disease has reached 1,173. The case of Mahendra Emrith, who tested chikungunya positive and died of encephalitis is making the public more and more anxious. Even though it has not been established yet whether his death was due to chikungunya or not, the population can?t help being worried when faced with such a suspicious death.

In fact, the fight against chikungunya must of course be done on an international level ? to try and reassure tour operators ? but it should above all be done locally. In view of a disease which is presenting symptoms and consequences no one would have expected, it is a matter of urgency to fight the disease.

By raising public awareness about the precautions to take to avoid the propagation of the disease by eliminating mosquito breeding-grounds, the authorities seem to have done a good job so far. After the death of Mahendra Emrith, the fight against the disease has taken on another dimension. The prime minister has set up a national committee chaired by Raj Mudhoo, to coordinate all preventive actions. Now the authorities should concentrate on the disease itself.

<B>Admit ignorance of the disease</B>

We have been able to contain the virus quite well so far and the minister of Health, Satish Faugoo, has kept on saying that the situation ?is under control?. Before this changes and the situation gets out of control, the authorities have to react. Like the experts in Reunion, they have to admit that they do not know much about the disease and accept that chikungunya could be more dangerous than initially thought.

Faced with a real epidemic, medical specialists in Reunion island are now admitting that they knew little about the disease until it reached their shores. ?Events have forced us to realise that there are more severe consequences like neurological forms of the disease. We definitely lack data,? admitted the director of the regional agency of hospitalisation, Dr Antoine Perrin. Doctors in Reunion have witnessed 77 deaths directly or indirectly linked to chikungunya.

Even the World Health Organisation (WHO) didn?t know much about the virus as it had considered it as ?benign? so far. Specialists coming from the international organisation are landing in the region this week to try and update their knowledge on the disease and particularly on ways to treat it.

As this tropical disease had always affected poor countries until now, there has been no vaccine found to fight it. The French prime minister, who arrived in Reunion, on Sunday, announced that France would provide Reunion with Rs 76 million as supplementary financial aid, of which nine million will be used for research.

<B>Public gets organised against virus</B>

As no effective way of fighting the virus has been found yet, the best solution remains prevention. Added to the efforts to clear mosquitoes ? which should come both from the authorities and the public ? the public has now learnt to live with anti-mosquito sprays and creams. Such products are being ?stormed? by the public and shops are starting to be out of stock and are eagerly waiting for the importers to receive new products. Unicorn Trading reveals it has sold ?eight times more products compared to the same period last year?. Another importing company, Scott, is also talking of an ?exceptional demand?. The public seems to have understood that the authorities should not be the only ones to react. It is its duty to play its role in preventing an epidemic?