Epidemiological surveillance of influenza and Dengue fever in Reunion Island, 1996.

The local Welfare and Health Authorities together with the country council of Reunion island set up a medical supervision network for influenza and dengue fever in March 1996. Influenza of which the spreading over the island has never been well-researched is anticipated by a vaccination campaign organised in an empirical way after a model from the mother country (France). Dengue fever of which one of the vectors is omnipresent on the island raged in an epidemic way in 1978. The aim of this network based on watching doctors, the laboratories of the island as well as the Pasteur Institute of Madagascar is to adapt the prevention (Flu) and alert the Health Authorities in case of epidemic (Dengue). The article shows the results of 1996 observation and touches on the future of this type of supervision in a tropical environment.