HEALTH problems encountered by tourists who contracted a rare and potentially life-threatening virus while visiting islands in the Indian Ocean such as Mauritius this year have been described by doctors.

The chikungunya virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes and causes fever, joint and muscle pain, headaches and rashes, caused 77 deaths in the Indian Ocean Islands in the first two months of the year. While local people were worst affected, Western travellers were also found to be carrying the virus.

Symptoms appear between four and seven days after the infecting bite and although the disease is not usually life-threatening, 12 per cent of patients have chronic joint pain three years after contracting the disease.

Scientists were able to track the epidemic, the worst to affect the area in years, in real time using internet surveillance.

At the time they advised all travellers to ensure that they took preventive measures against mosquito bites if visiting the area, while warning vulnerable people such as the elderly, pregnant women and families with young children not to travel.

Writing in The Lancet, researchers from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, described how they came across the chikungunya virus in February in a woman who had recently returned from a holiday in Mauritius. The outbreak has since decreased significantly, and is no longer considered a serious risk, although travellers are advised to continue taking precautions.

Chikungunya is a Swahili word meaning the illness of the bended walker. Most of the 77 deaths reported between January and March occurred in elderly people.

The woman seen by the Swiss doctors had been on a two-week trip to Mauritius, where she was bitten by mosquitoes several times.

She was seen by her local doctor in Switzerland, and then tests were carried out to discount malaria. After receiving treatment her fever subsided, but bad arthritis in both hands persisted, the doctors said. The disease is noted for its persistent nature.

Mauritius, an island particularly popular with honeymooning couples, has about 700,000 visitors annually, generating more than £400 million. The islands suffered this year, however, after the outbreak.

The number of French tourists, who normally account for about a quarter of the total, nosedived.

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