Madagascar has recorded the first cases of a mosquito-borne disease that has caused havoc and is linked to 93 deaths on Reunion Island, to the east.
The African state did not release figures for the number of people affected by the chikungunya virus, but called it a sporadic outbreak.
The symptoms of chikungunya include high fever, dehydration and severe pain - and there is no known cure.
The crippling disease has afflicted 20% of Reunion Islanders in the past year.
Some 93 deaths have been related to it directly or indirectly, the authorities say, since it broke out last year.
The disease is generally non-fatal, but it can leave patients vulnerable to other life-threatening diseases.
The French island of Reunion is about 500 miles (800km) east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
Other Indian Ocean islands, including Mayotte, Mauritius and the Seychelles, have also recorded cases, but its presence on Madagascar puts 18 million inhabitants at risk.
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