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A study has been published by researchers from the Pasteur Institute, who are concerned, among other things, about the proliferation of the tiger mosquito during the Paris Olympic Games. The insect is a vector of many arboviruses such as dengue or chikungunya.
This is a colossal challenge that lies ahead as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will soon be organized. The health authorities will undoubtedly have a lot to do: they fear an increased proliferation of the tiger mosquito, particularly in Ile-de-France. France. All the more worrying as the insect is the vector of numerous diseases called “arboviruses”. In this sense, the Pasteur Institute relayed this Tuesday, June 18, a study that was, to say the least, pessimistic about the weeks to come.
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Carried out last May, this work, carried out by researchers from the Pasteur Institute, the Regional Mosquito Control Agency and the National Reference Center for Arboviruses, affirms that the mixing of populations expected during the Olympic Games of Paris could cause an increase in cases of infections with numerous viruses. “Tourist flows will increase the risk of the appearance of imported cases of dengue, chikungunya or Zika,” comments the Pasteur Institute. The event will undoubtedly combine “a significant mixing of populations with a period of return of vacationers from endemic areas and a period favorable to the development of mosquitoes”.
1,679 cases of dengue since the start of the year
But what worries the health authorities even more is that this sporting event is organized in a context already particularly favorable to the proliferation of the tiger mosquito in the country. “The establishment of the tiger mosquito in 78 departments in mainland France and global warming favor vector transmission,” specifies the Pasteur Institute, which provides valuable data on contaminations which have already been recorded in the country since the start of the ‘year.
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At this point, 2024 promises to be a record year: “from January 1 to April 19, 1,679 imported cases of dengue were recorded in mainland France, i.e. 13 times more than last year over the same period”, indicate health authorities. Figures which can be explained, among other things, by the conjunction of two phenomena: the heavy rains of recent weeks which have hit the country and the intense heat which is gradually arriving. Two phenomena which both favor the proliferation of the tiger mosquito.
The Pasteur Institute hopes that this study will make it possible to “develop appropriate control strategies” against these diseases. The researchers were able to establish the transmission times of the five arboviruses identified in France (West Nile, chikungunya, Usutu, Zika and dengue). Based on their results, the researchers indicate that when a case of infection is detected, authorities will have to offer disinfection within 21 days of detection of the case. Furthermore, researchers recommend that any person who returns from a trip and presents symptoms of fever or body aches should consult a doctor as soon as possible.
