An important discovery for science. For the first time in metropolitan France, researchers have identified tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus) infected with the dengue virus, as announced in a press release from the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRAE) published on Monday, September 16, 2024 and relayed by BFMTV This discovery presents several major interests for research.
Increase in cases in France since 2018
As a reminder, dengue fever, or tropical flu, is a viral disease for which there is no specific treatment. It is transmitted by mosquitoes, particularly the tiger mosquito. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), 390 million dengue virus infections occur each year, with several thousand deaths each time. While the Americas, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific are the most affected regions, more than a hundred countries are affected, for a total of 3.9 billion people exposed.
Read also: How dengue fever arrived in metropolitan France even before the mosquito season and the Olympic Games
In France, autochthonous cases, i.e. non-imported cases, began to appear in a limited way in 2010 around the Mediterranean. Since 2018, the number of annual cases has increased, reaching 65 in 2022. At the same time, infections have appeared in other regions, such as in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in 2019 and in Île-de-France in 2023.
It was mosquitoes captured by private traps in an urban district of Drôme, affected by two indigenous cases at the end of summer 2023, which led to this recent discovery by Inrae researchers, associated with the Claude-Bernard-Lyon 1 University, the École pratique des hautes études of the Paris-Dauphine University (EPHE-PSL) and the Mascara network, details Drôme News .
The importance of household traps
Thanks to their analysis work, scientists were able to confirm that the tiger mosquito was indeed the species carrying the disease in France since 2010. Experts now have a simple, fast and inexpensive way to trace the virus and monitor the epidemiology of the disease. They will now only need to analyze the contents of mosquito traps placed near outbreaks of the disease.
This discovery “shows the importance of implementing individual and collective control plans against this species, but also of raising awareness among health professionals about diseases transmitted by mosquitoes”underlines the INRAE press release. Enough to invite everyone to equip themselves with traps.
