Dengue fever is becoming more widespread in Europe amid climate change, researchers warned after a woman from Great Britain became infected while on vacation in the south of France, reports DPA/PA Media on Friday.
A 44-year-old woman, whose name has not been made public, became infected with dengue fever during a trip to Nice, in the south of France, in September 2022, informs Agerpres.
She experienced fever, headache, muscle aches and a rash for three days, but did not require further medical treatment.
The diagnosis was established by the Laboratory for Rare Imported Pathogens (RIPL) in Great Britain, after the woman contacted an emergency service upon returning to her country and doctors urgently sent a sample for analysis.
“This person was part of an outbreak of more than 30 locally transmitted cases in southern France in 2022, which highlights the rapidly changing epidemiology of dengue,” said Dr Owain Donnelly from the London Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
“With climate change, especially higher temperatures and more rainfall, and increased global trade and tourism, we may see more areas in Europe have the right combination of factors for dengue outbreaks. Surveillance mechanisms and reporting are important to ensure we have an accurate understanding of the spread of dengue,” added the doctor.
The woman had returned from the south of France the day before the symptoms appeared and had not traveled to other states. The family with whom he lived in France presented similar symptoms.
dengue fever it is spread by the bite of mosquitoes infected with the dengue virus, usually in the tropical regions of Asia, South America and Asia.
However, climate change has contributed to the increased presence in Southern Europe of the Asian tiger mosquito, which carries the virus.
Most cases in the UK have been diagnosed in people who have recently visited these regions.
The disease has flu-like symptoms, but it is estimated that 75% of cases are asymptomatic and may go undetected.
In severe cases, 1-5% of patients develop potentially fatal dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever.
The case was presented by Dr. Owain Donnelly in the context of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases taking place between April 15 and 18 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
From June to September 2022, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) in France reported three separate outbreaks of dengue virus transmission in the national territory, without the patients having traveled abroad.
