While the Americas hit the 1 million locally acquired chikungunya case mark this past week, one year after the introduction of the virus in this region of the world one year ago, the islands of the South Pacific are battling a large outbreak of their own.

Aedes aegypti/CDC
Aedes aegypti/CDC

In French Polynesia, the outbreak is estimated to have reached 40,000 cases, up 13,000 cases since last reported nine days ago. In addition, four additional chikungunya fatalities have been reported bringing that total to 9.

The Auckland Regional Public Health Service puts the official case count at 35,000 cases, with seven deaths in French Polynesia as of Dec. 16. In addition, other ongoing chikungunya outbreaks in the Pacific islands include American Samoa with 1148 cases, Samoa with more than 2500 suspected cases and Tokelau with 159 suspected cases.

The outbreaks have prompted officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to update their travel notices for French Polynesia, American Samoa and Samoa on Thursday.

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