The failure of colonial ‘distancing’
Changing representations of the 2005–06 chikungunya epidemic in Réunion, France
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20153716 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Philip Weinstein (0000-0001-9860-7166, The University of Western Australia, corresponding author), Shamika Ravi (0000-0002-8811-1025, The University of Western Australia), Srilata Ravi |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 221-235 |
| Publication date | 2008-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0129-7619 • E-ISSN: 1467-9493 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9493.2008.00330.x |
| OpenAlex | W1984473990 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 9 |
In 2005–06, the Indian Ocean island of Réunion, an overseas department of France, experienced a massive epidemic of the mosquito‐borne viral infection chikungunya. Public health authorities in metropolitan France were arguably slow to react, and we explore their representations and management of the epidemic in the context of tropicality and colonial discourse. We analyse official reports on the epidemic from the bulletins of the Institut de Veillance Sanitaire (Institute for Health Surveillance) for changes in representations of risk posed by chikungunya to metropolitan France, in the emphasis on control measures for the epidemic and in descriptions of chikungunya case symptomatologies, and compare these with parallel representations of another epidemic, flu, already known in metropolitan France. Our findings illustrate that official responses to chikungunya at the beginning of the epidemic are suggestive of a centred tropicality: there is no perceived risk to metropolitan France because of its nontropical climate; thus, there is no justification for costly control measures for a disease inevitable in the tropics; and therefore the symptoms of French nationals in overseas departments in the tropics can be described in detached terms so as to generate knowledge about the disease. However, this ‘distancing’ fails with the perceived risk to metropolitan France towards the end of the epidemic in late 2006, when representations are more consistent with a decentred tropicality: the concept of a protective metropolitan French climate is abandoned; the need for a whole‐of‐society involvement in control measures is accepted; and symptoms are described using more inclusive language. Similar changes are not found in official reports on the flu epidemic
Chikungunya · Colonialism · Context (archaeology) · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Disease · Distancing · Economic growth · Geography · Infectious disease (medical specialty) · Metropolitan area · Outbreak · Political science · Public health · Social distance · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Law · Malaria Research and Control · Medicine · Mosquito-borne diseases and control · Virology · Zoonotic diseases and public health
Colonial Experience and the Development of Tropical Geography in France
From a Centred to a Decentred Tropicality
Cultural Theory
Francophone Africa
Tropicality, Orientalism, and French Colonialism in Indochina
Pretext or Prophylaxis? Racial Segregation and Malarial Mosquitos in a British Tropical Colony
Climate, Race, and Imperial Authority
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,12 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2013 (5) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |