In December 2013, an emergence of chikungunya was observed in the French Caribbean region. Starting on the Saint-Martin island, the epidemic of chikungunya spread in Martinique on December 2013. The first cases were then observed in Guadeloupe in December 2013 and in January 2014 in the French Guyana. A specific surveillance system has been implemented based on a sentinel general practitioners’ network enabling the estimation of the number of cases clinically suggestive. Severity of this arbovirus is assessed using the number of hospitalized cases. The syndromic surveillance system SurSaUD, based on the daily collection of two complementary morbidity data sources, is also implemented in these territories and has contributed to the surveillance of this outbreak.
Objective
Description of the temporal pattern of the chikungunya epidemic and the characteristics of patients in the French overseas territories of Americas using the French syndromic surveillance system SurSaUD.