"I haven't had any water in the house for seven days now," laments Anfedine, a resident of the French overseas department Mayotte. For the past week, residents of the small archipelago in the Indian Ocean have been deprived of water two days out of three on Grande-Terre (the main island) outside Mamoudzou, and every day from 4pm to 8am. Regional health authorities assure the water is "drinkable" and are asking the population to continue washing their hands regularly, despite the context, to slow down a "typical" epidemic of acute gastroenteritis. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES