2024-07-05 18:07:38
This mosquito-borne virus can cause severe symptoms in 1 in 5 people who become infected: fever, body aches, rash and vomiting.
In extreme cases, patients may experience seizures, muscle weakness, and even paralysis. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has issued an alert. Worryingly, both infections were local and not imported from tropical regions.
In addition, the virus has been found to be carried by mosquitoes in the Italian province of Chieti.
The Zika virus has also been detected in mosquitoes in 26 European countries, including the popular holiday islands of Mallorca and Menorca. Tourists are warned about the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), which is known to carry the disease.
ECDC has warned of outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases across Europe, including the threat of dengue fever and chikungunya virus.
“Europe is already seeing how climate change is creating more favorable conditions for invasive mosquito species to spread into previously untouched areas and infect more people with diseases such as dengue,” ECDC director Andrea Ammon warned back in mid-June.
West Nile virus is a major threat to people over the age of 50 and those with conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer. The virus can cause serious complications that require hospitalization, including meningitis and encephalitis.
in 2023 In the European Union and the European Economic Area (EU/EEA), 130 local cases of dengue fever were registered, for comparison, in 2022. – 71 cases.
The rapidly increasing incidence of dengue fever is further highlighted by long-term statistics. 2010-2021 period, 73 local infections were registered in Europe. So, in a decade, almost twice less than last year.
Imported cases of the disease are also increasing: in 2022 1,572 infected people were registered, and in 2023 – more than 4,900. This is the highest number of imported dengue fever cases since 2008, when EU-level monitoring began.
in 2023 EU/EEA countries reported 713 local West Nile virus infections. That’s more than 400 fewer cases than in 2022, but experts are concerned about the wider geography of the infection.
Climate change is expected to have a major impact on the circulation of mosquito-borne diseases in Europe, due to environmental conditions that favor the establishment and growth of mosquito populations.
Stronger surveillance and early diagnosis of travel-related and local mosquito-borne disease cases are of paramount importance for timely application of control measures, ECDC said.
2024-07-05 18:07:38