As climate change pushes temperatures up, invasive mosquitoes are embedding into European countries – bringing dengue fever with them.
In 2023, there were 130 locally acquired cases of dengue reported in the EU, compared to 71 in 2022, according to an update from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The rise is even more stark when you look back further – between 2010 and 2021, there were 73 cases across the whole period.
“Climate change is creating more favourable conditions for invasive mosquitoes to spread into previously unaffected areas and infect more people with diseases such as dengue,” ECDC director Andrea Ammon said.
“Increased international travel from dengue-endemic countries will also increase the risk of imported cases, and inevitably also the risk of local outbreaks.”
Imported cases are on the rise, too. More than 4,900 people in Europe caught dengue while travelling abroad in 2023 – the highest figure since surveillance began in 2008 and up from 1,572 cases in 2022.
The tiger mosquito, which spreads dengue as well as chikungunya and Zika virus, used to be found only in tropical countries.
But the ECDC has found it is now established in 13 European countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.
The tiger mosquito has also been detected by authorities at UK ports several times in recent years, but so far no local populations have been established.
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