Chikungunya: a first authorized vaccine available in pharmacies

Valneva France recently announced that its chikungunya vaccine, called IXCHIQ, is now available in France. It is therefore possible to buy it in pharmacies, with compulsory medical prescription. But, for the moment, it is not reimbursed by Health Insurance.

A single-dose vaccine against chikungunya

According to the VidalIXCHIQ is “the first vaccine marketed in France to prevent infection caused by the chikungunya virus in adults”. This only includes a single dose, according to the vaccination schedule recommended in the Marketing Authorization (AMM). This was obtained, for the European market, in last July. In the United States, the vaccine has already been authorized since 2023.

This authorization is issued in a specific context. In 2021, there were only three imported cases of chikungunya in mainland France, according to thePasteur Institute. But the data from reinforced surveillance in mainland France regarding Chikungunya, dengue and zika this year show an increase. They report 6 imported cases of chikungunya between January 1 and April 30, 2024, and 20 imported cases of chikungunya (including in departments colonized by Aedes albopictus), from May 1, 2024 to November 18, 2024.

Chikungunya: a disease transmitted by the rarely fatal tiger mosquito

Chikungunya is a viral disease caused by an alphavirus transmitted by the bite of the tiger mosquito. Usually, the infection is more present in tropical countries where the insect is very present, notably in the islands of the Indian Ocean and Oceania, in Africa, in India or even in South-East Asia. But chikungunya is emerging and increasing in Europe, because the tiger mosquito has established itself there. According to the Vidalbetween 2010 and 2015, there were even a few indigenous (not imported) cases of chikungunya in the South of France.

The symptoms of chikungunya are as follows, depending on the World Health Organization (WHO):

• fever ;
• severe joint pain, often debilitating and of variable duration;
• muscle pain;
• headaches;
• swelling of the joints;
• nausea;
• fatigue ;
• skin rashes.

“Severe or fatal cases of chikungunya are rare, and are generally associated with the existence of other pathologies”, indicates the WHO.

For the moment, there is no curative treatment; the solutions offered to patients only help to relieve their symptoms. The vaccine could therefore allow, particularly vulnerable people, to avoid suffering from this disease and its consequences…. However, the High Authority for Health (HAS) has not yet issued an opinion concerning it.