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Climate Crisis Accelerates Spread of Mosquito-borne Diseases in Europe

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Mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever are increasingly becoming a public health concern in Europe due to the ongoing climate crisis, according to Prof Rachel Lowe from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. Lowe, who heads the global health resilience group, highlights a worrying trend influenced by global warming which facilitates the breeding and spread of disease-carrying mosquitoes into new regions, including northern Europe.

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Speaking at the global congress of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Barcelona, Lowe emphasized that as the planet warms, conditions become ideal for mosquitoes to thrive longer and in more areas. This shift results in an increased risk of disease outbreaks, particularly in regions previously unaffected due to their cooler climates.

The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, a known carrier of dengue fever, has already established itself in 13 European countries. These include Italy, France, Spain, and Germany among others. This mosquito’s spread is attributed to warmer temperatures and fewer cold spells that historically curbed their breeding cycles. Dengue fever, primarily a tropical disease, has seen an exponential rise in cases, with reported incidents to the World Health Organization (WHO) increasing from 500,000 in 2000 to over 5 million in 2019.

Prof Lowe warns that the extended hot seasons and erratic weather patterns, like droughts and floods linked to Climate change, enhance conditions for viral transmission. Stored water from heavy rains provides additional breeding grounds for mosquitoes, further complicating control efforts.

With the current trajectory of climate change and population growth, Lowe predicts that the number of people living in at-risk areas for mosquito-borne diseases could double by the end of the century, reaching 4.7 billion. She stresses the necessity for Europe to bolster its surveillance and early response systems, mirroring successful models from other parts of the world, to manage and mitigate the risk of these growing health threats effectively.