Europe alarmed over rising mosquito-borne diseases

STOCKHOLM — Cases of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases are rising significantly in Europe as climate change creates warmer conditions that help invasive mosquitoes spread, the European Union's health agency warned on Tuesday.

Last year, 130 locally acquired cases of dengue were reported in the region comprising the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, or EEA, compared to 71 in 2022.

This was a "significant increase "from the 2010-2021 period, when the number for the entire period was 73, the Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, or ECDC, said.

Imported cases were also on the rise, with 1,572 cases in 2022 and 4,900 last year, "the highest number" since the start of EU monitoring in 2008.

"Europe is already seeing how climate change is creating more favorable conditions for invasive mosquitoes to spread into previously unaffected areas and infect more people with diseases such as dengue," Andrea Ammon, director of the ECDC, told a news conference.

"What we can see is that there is a connection between a higher temperature in summer, a milder winter and the spread of the mosquitoes further in areas where they are not present right now."

For West Nile virus, 713 locally acquired cases and 67 deaths were reported in 123 different regions in nine EU countries last year.

The Aedes albopictus mosquito, known for transmitting the dengue, chikungunya and Zika viruses, "is spreading further north, east and west in Europe", the ECDC said.

The agency said the establishment of coordinated measures, such as insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying, was crucial to combat mosquito-borne illnesses, as well as simple measures such as removing stagnant water from balconies and gardens and personal protective efforts to reduce the risk of mosquito bites.

Agencies Via Xinhua