Dozens in France Contract Tropical Virus
SAINT-DENIS, La Reunion — A few dozen people in mainland France who contracted a mosquito-borne virus on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion are being treated at a Paris hospital, officials said Monday. The chikungunya virus has struck 20 percent of the population of the Indian Ocean island and overwhelmed its medical system. Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said a few dozen people were treated at a Paris hospital after they were infected with the chikungunya virus while traveling to Reunion and other Indian Ocean islands.
The virus is usually not life-threatening but can cause muscle and joint pain, rash and fever. Chikungunya is a Swahili word meaning "that which bends up," a reference to the stooped posture some victims adopt because of joint pain.
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