For danger Outbreaks of Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya in Europe warns World Health Organization (WHO) while changing of the climate increases the range of mosquito carriers of these diseases.

As extreme weather events become more frequent, experts fear insect-borne diseases will become more prevalent, even in areas where they currently do not pose a threat.

“Climate change plays a key role in the spread of mosquitoes in the south,” explains Raman Welayudan, head of the WHO global tropical disease program, referring to countries in the southern hemisphere where summer has just ended when mosquito populations traditionally increase. . “And then when people travel, the virus travels with them.”

Only in America this year they were recorded at least 441,000 dengue cases and over 100 deathsHe said.

According to the WHO, about half of the world’s population is at risk of this acute viral illness, with 400 million infections each year.

This same mosquito “guide” for all three diseasesmoreover, this viral trio often circulates simultaneously.

One of the biggest challenges for health authorities is to control these Arboviruses (ss arbovirus, a name derived from words carried by arthropods and referring to the source of their transmission through arthropods such as mosquitoes) is that mosquito eggs can remain dry for months during transport in containers and hatch within several hours after contact with them. water, on the soil of a new country.

“They spread according to altitude and latitude. There are cases currently being reported in south of Europesays Diana Rojas Alvarez, co-lead of the WHO global arbovirus initiative.

He adds that, as with Covid-19, the increased presence of arbovirus-carrying mosquitoes could lead to the emergence of a new mosquito-borne disease, especially in crowded areas. “If the population is susceptible, then there is a risk of major epidemics occurring in these areas,” he notes.

Source: Bloomberg.