Invasive mosquitoes are spreading to Europe – and with them, dangerous diseases such as dengue fever. The Asian tiger mosquito, which spreads dengue, is now found in 13 countries in Europe, according to a report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The BBC is following up on this and writes that French authorities fear that those visiting the Summer Olympics in Paris may be infected with dengue fever. Therefore, they have recently taken several measures to kill the tiger mosquito. The species has also been detected in southern Germany, where the European Championship is taking place.
Climate change is highlighted as an explanation for the increase.
"Europe is already seeing how climate change is creating favourable conditions for invasive mosquitoes to spread to previously unaffected areas and infect more people with diseases such as dengue," says Andrea Ammon, head of the ECDC.
Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, originally comes from Southeast Asia. It is now established in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain. It has also been introduced in Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Slovakia.
Last year, the species was detected in Sweden, when eggs from two plants taken from Spain were placed in Swedish waters and hatched into larvae.
The mosquito species can spread chikungunya virus, West Nile virus, and the virus that causes dengue fever.
Source: ECDC
