Key Points

Vector-borne diseases: A cluster of locally acquired dengue cases has been identified in a neighborhood of Nîmes. As of September 17, there are 6 confirmed cases and 1 probable case (a case that cannot be biologically confirmed). In light of this, the Gard department has been placed at Level 3 of the national plan to combat the spread of chikungunya and dengue.Each report of a suspected case to the ARS triggers epidemiological investigations into that case, with the aim of guiding targeted vector control operations to eliminate mosquitoes and their larvae. Residents have been educated on simple measures to limit the proliferation of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the vector for dengue and chikungunya. Healthcare professionals have received information aimed at re-emphasizing the importance of testing for dengue in patients presenting with compatible symptoms and for whom no other diagnosis has been made, including patients who have not traveled. Furthermore, testing for both dengue AND chikungunya must be routinely requested whenever dengue and/or chikungunya is suspected.In Languedoc-Roussillon, 197 reports of suspected cases of chikungunya and/or dengue have been received since May 1, 2015. Ten imported cases of dengue and two imported cases of chikungunya have been confirmed (all acquired during travel to an endemic area). Six autochthonous cases of dengue have been confirmed.

West Nile: On September 4, the detection of two horses testing positive for the West Nile virus in the Camargue was confirmed. On September 14, the detection of the West Nile virus was confirmed in a horse in Fabrègues, in the Hérault department. This vector-borne disease, whose reservoir consists of birds, can occasionally affect equines and humans bitten by infected mosquitoes. Enhanced surveillance of suspected human cases has been organized: at this stage, no human cases have been identified.