An insect carrying dengue fever which leaves people suffering severe muscle spasms and joint pain is feared to be heading to the UK.
As a response, mosquito traps are being installed across the south of England to counter the growing spread of the disease, also known as “breakbone fever”.
Dr Jolyon Medlock, Head of Medical Entomology at UKHSA, told the Telegraph that traps are being set and will hopefully be in operation by Spring next year. “We’re expanding as the threat increases. In the last two years, there have been an increasing number of cases of dengue in Europe,” the doctor said.
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“It’s all about ensuring we’re using the right traps in the right place.”
UKHSA is now installing traps in ports, service stations and truck stops to stop the insects making their way into the country in shipping containers or cargo. Officials are also being trained in how to spot mozzies.
Asian tiger mosquitoes have been confirmed to be in as many as 30 countries, including several dotted around Europe. The tiny predators are known to carry several diseases as well as dengue, including Zika, yellow fever and chikungunya fever.
The creatures were first seen in France in the South eastern city of Nice in 2004, and the pests have slowly been making their way north. Rising temperatures mean the small bugs could soon settle in this country.
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A British woman was infected with dengue during a holiday to Nice, in the South of France, in September 2022. The 44-year-old visited A&E after she began experiencing a fever, headache, muscle pain and a rash for three days, but did not require further medical treatment.
Between the busy holiday season of June and September 2022, three separate outbreaks of dengue virus transmission were reported by the Agence Regionale de Santé (ARS). These cases were identified in France among patients who had not travelled abroad.
Dr Owain Donnelly, from the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London, said back in May: “This individual was part of an outbreak of over 30 locally transmitted cases in the south of France in 2022, which highlights the rapidly changing epidemiology of dengue.
“With climate change, particularly hotter temperatures and more rainfall, and increasing global trade and tourism, we may see more parts of Europe with the right combination of factors for dengue outbreaks.
“Surveillance and reporting mechanisms are important in ensuring we have an accurate understanding of dengue spread.”
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