Swedish researchers map the risks of new virus epidemic in Europe

A press release from the University of Umea (Sweden): The risk of dengue fever beginning to spread in Europe is imminent. According to researchers from Umeå University, this is no longer just an issue for the scientific community but also for politicians and policy makers, who need to be prepared and develop preventive measures.

With a changing climate and rising temperatures in Europe, the incidence of the Aedes aegypti mosquito has also increased. The mosquito is the main vector of dengue that can cause haemorrhagic fever. Although no outbreak of the disease has not yet occurred in Europe, researchers at the Epidemiology and Global Health unit at Umeå University claim that there is now good living conditions for the mosquito in Europe and that it is therefore only a matter of time before we see an epidemic here. The Aedes albopictus mosquito has already established itself in large parts of Europe. Even though it is not as competent a vector as Aedes aegypti, several domestic cases of the disease have been observed in countries such as France and Croatia.

“The last outbreak of dengue in Portuguese Madeira when several thousand became ill, shows that it is no longer a theoretical possibility that the disease can take hold in Europe. It is a reality that can strike at any time,” says Raman Preet, researcher and scientific project manager of the Dengue Tools project at the Department of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University.  “When the disease shows up in Europe it has probably accompanied travellers in areas in the world where the disease is established. Then it will be spread with the help of the Aedes mosquito”.

The risk for Swedish travellers to be infected by dengue is highest when going to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, while most cases in Sweden stems from trips to Thailand....

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