The Institut Pasteur in Guadeloupe is mobilizing against Chikungunya through the development of a rapid detection test allowing the Medical Laboratory to bring a diagnosis to patients within five days after blood sample.
Involved from the beginning of Chikungunya's epidemic, the Institut Pasteur in French Guiana, with six International Reference Laboratories in Americas Region, showed the susceptibility of Aedes mosquito against Chikungunya virus and contributed by supplying reagents for carrying out the serology and the development of the real-time PCR. If the first epidemic outbreak was hosted on the French part of the Saint-Martin's island, the Chikungunya virus has spread rapidly in French West Indies, French Guiana and now extends into all Caribbean region. In December 2013, the decision was taken to perform the diagnosis in Guadeloupe in order to reduce response times. The Hospital in Pointe à Pitre supports hospitalized cases and the Institut Pasteur in Guadeloupe performs molecular diagnosis of ambulatory cases and serological diagnosis of all patients.
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