France, Aug. 26 -- Mainland France has seen an explosion of chikungunyaoutbreaks this summer and local officials are hunting down the tiger mosquitoes responsible for spreading the virus. Meanwhile, the United States has suspended the licence for a French-made vaccine against the virus following reports of serious side effects.

Mainland France has seen a record number of cases of chikungunyathis summer because of the spread of the tiger mosquito, which carries the virus, and is now present nearly everywhere in the country.

Health authorities have recently focused on Vitrolles, a suburb of Aix-en-Provence in southern France, where authorities recorded 33 cases of the virus transmitted locally - the largest outbreak ever observed in mainl...