Cases of dengue fever and mosquito-borne diseases are on the rise in Europe

Cases of dengue fever and other mosquito-borne diseases are rising in Europe as climate change creates favorable conditions for the spread of invasive mosquitoes, the European Union health agency warned on Tuesday.

In 2023, there were 130 cases of indigenous dengue fever detected in patients with no travel history in the European Union, as well as in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, all countries of the European Economic Area. In 2022, 71 cases of infection were recorded.

These figures represent “significant growth” This compares to the period from 2010 to 2021, during which a total of 73 cases were recorded, according to a report from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The number of imported cases has also increased.increasing from 1,572 in 2022 to 4,900 in 2023, the highest since European surveillance began in 2008.

“In Europe, climate change is creating favorable conditions for the spread of invasive mosquitoes into areas that have not been affected so far,” said Andrea Ammon, director of ECDC.

In 2023, a total of 713 cases of West Nile virus were reported in 123 regions across nine EU countries, resulting in 67 deaths.

There were fewer cases than in 2022, when there were 1,130 infections, but the number of affected regions is the highest since 2018.

The mosquito responsible for transmitting West Nile virus Culex pipiensnative to Europe, present in all EU and European Economic Area countries, ECDC reports.

Mosquito Aedes albopictuscommonly known as the tiger mosquito, can carry the dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses and is “spreading in northern, eastern and western Europe”.

“It has autonomous populations in 13 EU and European Economic Area countries,” the ECDC said.

The species Aedes aegypti, responsible for transmission of yellow fever virus as well as dengue, Zika and chikungunya, has recently established itself in Cyprus and peripheral EU regions such as Madeira and the French Caribbean islands.

“We can estimate that climate change will have a major impact on the spread of mosquito-borne diseases in Europe, as it will create, for example, environmental conditions favorable to creation and growth of mosquito populations”This was reported by ECDC.

The health agency added that coordinated measures such as mosquito nets insecticide treatment and insecticides in aerosols are critical to the control of these diseases.

Cleaning up stagnant water from balconies and gardens and wearing personal protective equipment are also important measures.