90% of the territory is on red, orange or purple alert to the tiger mosquito according to the latest map published by the site Mosquito Vigilance. 74 departments in mainland France (and 79 including those overseas) are classified as red alert, which represents 80% of French territory. 12 other departments are on orange vigilance, where “the tiger mosquito was intercepted or observed sporadically“, including 9 who joined this category this year. 7 metropolitan departments are classified under purple vigilance“where one or more cases of indigenous disease have been recorded in 2023”.
Indeed, the tiger mosquito is the main vector of the dengue virus, and the record increase in the number of cases since the start of the year on French territory worries the health authorities, a few weeks before the Paris Olympic Games. Indeed, 2,166 imported cases of dengue fever were recorded in mainland France between January 1 and April 30, compared to 131 cases over the same period in 2023. These alarming figures pushed the Directorate General of Health and Public Health France to sound the alarm during a press conference on April 23, 2024, in order to take stock of the the epidemiological situation in France and the good practices to adoptas the start of the activity period approaches tiger mosquito. Indeed, the number of dengue cases is particularly monitored between May 1 and November 30, the period of activity of the tiger mosquito, vector of the virus.
Dengue virus: an epidemic is underway in the French West Indies
The virus of dengue is transmitted by the bite of the tiger mosquitohere in mainland France for several years, but especially in overseas regions such as Guadeloupe, Guyana, and Martinique. Dengue fever most often causes flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, or body aches, within 3 to 14 days after being bitten by a carrier tiger mosquito.
During their press conference, Public Health France and the Directorate General of Health alerted to this “unprecedented situation”, with a much higher number of imported dengue cases than in previous years. Among these imported cases, 82% come from the French West Indies (Guadeloupe and Martinique), where an epidemic is underway since September-October 2023. However, this epidemic does not equal the levels of that of 2010, but has many more cases imported to the mainland. However, this increase does not only concern the French West Indies, but the entire area of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Dengue fever: the tiger mosquito is subject to increased surveillance as the Olympics approach
If according to the General Directorate of Health, “the Olympic Games are not an additional risk factor, what is is the increased flow of travelers”, the Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency reaffirmed that “vector control is one of the Agency’s priorities and the actions carried out are reinforced within the framework of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games”. Indeed, according to the Mosquito Vigilance site, because of the Olympics, “expected tourist flows will increase the risk of appearance of imported cases of dengue, chikungunya or Zika”, or, when they appear “in departments in red or purple, the risk of developing outbreaks of indigenous cases increases with it“.
In anticipation of these risks, the ARS of Ile-de-France affirmed that “the actions of public authorities have been strengthened, in particular in terms of awareness and prevention for travelers departing from or arriving in endemic areas of these pathologies, as well as identification and reduction of areas conducive to the proliferation of mosquitoes near places of large gatherings”. Among the good reflexes to adopt to stem the proliferation tiger mosquitothe General Directorate of Health recalled the importance of to eliminate stagnant water indoors or near homes. She also recommended that people traveling to risk areas such as Guadeloupe, Martinique, or Guyana protect yourself from mosquito bites, in order to avoid contracting the disease. For those returning from risk areas, it is advisable to continue to protect yourself from mosquito bites for three weeks, in order to prevent a tiger mosquito from possibly being contaminated and in turn transmitting the virus, but also to consult the your doctor sooner if you have symptoms.
Sources :
- Upsurge in imported cases of dengue fever in mainland France: call for vigilance as the tiger mosquito activity season approaches – Public Health France – April 23, 2024
- Upsurge in imported dengue cases in mainland France: health authorities call for vigilance as the period of tiger mosquito activity approaches – Directorate General of Health – April 23, 2024
- Vector control: strengthening surveillance of the tiger mosquito from May to November 2024 – Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency – May 16, 2024
- Mosquito Vigilance
