Chikungunya on Réunion Island: Social, Environmental and Behavioural Factors in an Epidemic Context

The epidemic alert which occurred in Réunion (a French overseas département,) and Mayotte (a French overseas territory) in December 2005 brought about the creation of a "Chikungunya research coordination unit" on both islands. It is within this unprecedented framework that the quantitative survey presented here was created for data collection purposes in March 2006. In addition to gathering socio-demographic and epidemiological data on the contamination status of respondents and their families, the survey also explores the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of these populations concerning the epidemic. Michel SETBON and Jocelyn RAUDE provide original results for determining the factors responsible for the epidemic and propose a veritable model of vulnerability to contamination. Their work is proof of the indisputable contribution that an interdisciplinary approach to health emergencies can provide. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]