2012 outbreak of acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis in Indian Ocean Islands: Identification of coxsackievirus A24 in a returned traveller

Abstract

In May 2012, a Coxsackievirus A24 haemorrhagic conjunctivitis was diagnosed in Marseille, France, in a traveller returning from the Comoros Islands.This case allowed identification of the cause of an ongoing outbreak of haemorrhagic conjunctivitis in Indian Ocean Islands, illustrating that returning travellers may serve as sentinels for infectious diseases outbreaks in tropical areas where laboratory investigation is limited.