Chikungunya, a mosquito-borne disease, which hit one-fifth population in French island Reunion in the Indian Ocean, has been detected in mainland France, a doctor told French private radio Europe 1 on Saturday.

At least 30 cases were recorded, said Francois Bricaire, head of an infectious diseases unit of a Paris hospital.

"We have people coming back from Reunion island who have the symptoms of chikungunya and with diagnostics that have confirmed it," he said.

Chikungunya means "that which bends up" because of its painful, arthritic-type symptoms that leave victims stooped, he said.

The disease has caused directly or indirectly the death of 77 people and affected 15,700 others, or about 20 percent of the island's population.

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin was to visit the island from Sunday to Monday. A 500-strong French force has been deployed there to help clear mosquitoes.

Source: Xinhua