In May 2012, a Coxsackievirus A24 haemorrhagic conjunctivitis
was diagnosed in Marseille, France, in a
traveller returning from the Comoros Islands. This case
allowed identification of the cause of an ongoing outbreak
of haemorrhagic conjunctivitis in Indian Ocean
Islands, illustrating that returning travellers may serve
as sentinels for infectious diseases outbreaks in tropical
areas where laboratory investigation is limited.