New Caledonia has recorded its first case of chikungunya brought into the territory from French Polynesia.
The government says the mosquito-borne disease was brought to Noumea by a 79-year-old man who had arrived on a flight from Tahiti.
It says he was singled out in an airport scan and tests show he is a carrier of the disease.
Two weeks ago, New Caledonia started scanning passengers arriving from Tahiti where hundreds of people have contracted the disease and about 40 are in hospital.
Passengers arriving in Noumea are asked to apply an insect repellent several times a day for eight days.
New Caledonia has had chikungunya outbreaks in 2011 and 2013 when the illness was brought into the territory from Indonesia.
Last April, chikungunya was brought in from Tonga.
Photo: RNZ
