Nature Diseases such as West Nile virus and dengue are becoming increasingly common as the insects that spread them move north. Climate change is turning Europe into a breeding ground for mosquito-borne diseases, researchers warn. Longer summers, hotter temperatures and heavy rainfall are creating favourable conditions for mosquitos in places where they couldn’t previously thrive.
Figures published last week by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) show that there have been 715 locally acquired cases of West Nile virus (WNV) across 15 countries in Europe so far this year, surpassing the number reported in the same period last year and Europe’s 10-year average. As of 4 September, 51 people had died as a result of the infection. “This has become the new normal,” says Céline Gossner, a specialist in emerging and vector-borne diseases at the ECDC in Stockholm, Sweden. The number of cases of WNV is likely to rise throughout September and October, she adds.
Researchers say people who live in areas where outbreaks have been reported should take precautions to avoid mosquito bites.
“We are faced with a problem where new places could become hotspots of transmission that were not prepared for this before,” says Houriiyah Tegally, a genomic epidemiologist at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.