Key Points

• The first case of chikungunya in the French Departments of the Americas (DFA) was detected in Saint Martin in October 2013. In French Guiana, the first case—imported from that same island—was recorded in January 2014, followed by the first locally acquired cases, identified as early as February. These cases originated from a single outbreak located in the Savanes region.

• The spread of the epidemic was gradual: the Cayenne Island area in June 2014, the Western Coast area in September of the same year, the Maroni area in November, and then the Savanes area in December. The Interior, Eastern Interior, and Oyapock areas never experienced an epidemic.

• The epidemic lasted a total of 1 year and 8 months. Over this period, 16,043 clinically suggestive cases were recorded, representing an incidence of 62 per 1,000 inhabitants (INSEE 2015), or 1 in 16 people affected.

• The Cayenne outbreak lasted 42 weeks, during which 6,076 clinically suggestive cases were estimated—representing a cumulative incidence of 53 cases per 1,000 inhabitants—taking the form of a main epidemic wave followed by background activity until the end of the chikungunya outbreak across the entire territory.

• The epidemic in the Western Littoral lasted 37 weeks, with an epidemic trajectory marked by a sharp increase in the number of reported cases, followed by fluctuations, before a significant decline. The cumulative incidence rate there was the highest, at approximately 100 cases per 1,000 inhabitants.

• The epidemic in the Savanes region was the longest (47 weeks), with two distinct epidemic waves of moderate to low intensity.

• In the Maroni region, viral circulation lasted 27 weeks, with a total of 772 clinically suggestive cases, representing an incidence rate of 22 cases per 1,000 inhabitants.

• Of the 7,652 probable or confirmed cases reported across the entire territory, 68% were women and 25% were under the age of 15.

• With 484 probable or confirmed cases of chikungunya hospitalized in three medical centers, the hospitalization rate among clinically suggestive cases was 3%. Among them:

  • Pregnant women accounted for 39% of hospitalized cases.

  • Children aged 0 to 14 years represented the most common age group (30%), with those under 1 year of age alone accounting for nearly 20% of hospitalizations. As this population is more vulnerable, the majority were hospitalized.

  • 64% of hospitalized cases had at least one risk factor and/or comorbidity, including 39% of pregnant women. Excluding pregnant women, this proportion was 23%.

  • The most common comorbidities were hypertension, diabetes, and immunosuppression.

  • 74% of cases presented with a common form of chikungunya, 23% with an unusual form, and 3% with a severe form, representing a severity rate among clinically suggestive cases estimated at less than 1‰. The majority of severe cases (60%) were observed in children under 1 year of age.

  • Only one death directly linked to chikungunya was recorded; this individual had no risk factors and/or comorbidities.