A situation unprecedented by its precocity and its extent
The last bulletin of Public health Francepublished on June 25, sounds the alarm. As of June 24, 2025, Eight Aboriginal cases of chikungunya were identified in Francedistributed in Six distinct episodes. If the disease has already been reported in mainland France in the past, “”such precocity in the mosquito activity season and such a high number of episodes had never been observed so far“”specifies the report.
Cases have been identified in four particularly exposed regions : Provence-Alpes-Côte d “Azur, Occitanie, Corsica and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The first symptoms were detected between May 27 and June 19. As a comparison, In 2024, only one case had been reported in June, and in 2023, the first episode only occurred.
We are talking about indigenous cases when an infection is transmitted locally, without being linked to a trip abroad. Although this phenomenon is infrequent, it is worrying because it shows that the vector mosquito is present in the territory and able to spread the virus.
Active circulation, anchored in the territory
The identified homes concern in particular Prades-le-Lez in Hérault, La Crau and Salon-de-Provence in the Var and the Bouches-du-Rhône, Grosseto-Pugna in Corsica-du-Sud, Montoison in Drôme, and the town of Nîmes or Bernis in the Gard. None of these episodes is still considered closed to date, which testifies to a Active circulation of the virus.
Public health France also underlines another aggravating factor: the still high number of cases imported from the meetingmain home in Chikungunya currently. Between May 1 and June 24, 2025, 645 imported cases were detected in mainland Franceof which 549 coming direct from the meeting. “”The strain of the chikungunya virus circulating in Reunion is well suited to the Aedes Albopictus mosquito “still specifies the report, which facilitates local contaminations when viremic persons are present in the territory.
Symptoms that can bed
If chikungunya evokes a distant tropical virus for many, its effects are very real and often very disabling. The first signs generally include fever, intense joint pain, fatigue and headache. In some people, especially elderly or with chronic diseases, joint pain may persist for several weeks, or even monthsstrongly affecting the quality of life.
Although the virus is rarely fatal, serious forms can cause neurological or cardiac complicationsespecially among fragile populations. The health authorities therefore insist on the need for early detection, in order to limit the transmission and avoid the geographic extension of the virus.
What reflexes to limit the transmission of the virus?
In the absence of a vaccine or curative treatment, prevention is fully based on Barrier gestures against tiger mosquito bites. This involves wearing covering clothes, the use of skin repellents and the installation of mosquito nets, especially for bedridden people.
But the struggle is also played around houses. Mosquitoes laying in very small amounts of water, It is crucial to eliminate all stagnant water points : flowerpot saucers, poorly covered water recuperators, clogged gutters, etc. An operation of a few minutes which may be enough to interrupt a reproduction cycle.
Finally, in the event of suspicious symptoms after a stay in an area at risk or in a town concerned by an episode, It is imperative to consult a doctor quicklyso that the health authorities can trigger targeted demospecting operations.