Since May 2025, France has faced an unprecedented health situation: 38 cases of Aboriginal transmissions from Chikungunya have been identified, according to the report published by Public Health France on July 23. This internal propagation occurs while the epidemic traditionally affects tropical areas. The appearance of cases in Dax (Landes), in the Bouches-du-Rhône, in Corsica, in Gironde or even in the Bas-Rhin testifies to an unprecedented extension of the virus on hexagonal territory.
This virus, transmitted by the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), causes fever, joint pain and fatigue. No curative treatment exists to date. Since May 1, health services have detected in mainland France 833 cases imported from Chikungunya, 624 cases imported from dengue and 2 cases imported from Zika. For Diana Rojas Alvarez, WHO team leader on the arbovirus quoted by the daily Southwest On July 22, “in regions where populations have little or no immunity, the virus can cause rapid and significant epidemics, infected up to three quarters of the population”.
A global threat linked to global warming?
The World Health Organization Alert: The current epidemic recalls that of 2004-2005 in the Indian Ocean, which had affected almost half a million people. This year, “a third of the Reunional population is already infected,” says Diana Rojas Alvarez. The virus then spread to Madagascar, Somalia, Kenya, South Asia, and Aboriginal cases were reported in Italy and France.
According to WHO, 119 countries are now affected, endangering 5.6 billion people. The expansion of the tiger mosquito is facilitated by longer and humid summers. “We therefore sound the alarm so that countries can prepare to detect quickly and strengthen their capacities to avoid very large epidemics,” said WHO official.
Vaccines, precautions and shortcomings of the response
Faced with this threat, two vaccines are today authorized in Europe: Ixchiq and Vimkunya. The latter has been recommended since June 2025 in the event of a extended or repeated stay in the epidemic zone for people aged 12 to 65 with comorbidities. But those over 65, pregnant women and immunocompromised people have no fully validated vaccine solution to date, which increases their vulnerability.
In the absence of treatment, prevention is essentially based on repellents, mosquito nets and the elimination of stagnant waters. Demoustication operations have been incurred in several southern municipalities. But for many experts, France is not prepared for a large -scale epidemic. “We have to be vigilant,” alerted Anna-Bella Failloux, entomologist at the Institut Pasteur, with the regional daily The mountain July 26.
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