Arboviruses, rougeole…
In its surveillance for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, “Public Health France will be particularly attentive to food-borne infections, arboviruses (chikungunya, dengue, Zika) or even measles for the infectious aspect, but also to the risks linked to heat in the event of a heatwave,” the health agency recently indicated.
From January 1 to April 30, 2024, 2,166 imported cases of dengue fever were first recorded in mainland France, compared to 128 cases on average over the same period the previous five years, according to data published on Wednesday. The 2023 record for imported cases (2,019) was thus broken in four months. And since the start, at the beginning of May, of reinforced surveillance of diseases (dengue, chikungunya, Zika) linked to the period of activity of tiger mosquitoes, 662 other imported cases have been recorded.
Dengue fever is a viral disease that is usually benign, but can develop into a more serious form in about 1% of cases, causing bleeding in particular. Deaths are very rare.
Unprecedented situation in mainland France
“Imported” cases concern people who have traveled to regions of the world where this virus transmitted by a tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) bite is endemic. Since the beginning of May, 58% of cases imported into mainland France returned from Guadeloupe or Martinique.
Health authorities warned in mid-April of an “unprecedented” situation in mainland France, linked to an outbreak of dengue fever in the Americas and the Caribbean, and called for increased vigilance, especially in the run-up to the Olympic Games, which are favorable to the mixing of populations. .
As of June 25, no episode of indigenous transmission of dengue fever by a mosquito present on site – but also of chikungunya or Zika – had yet been detected.
In 2023, France had recorded around fifty indigenous cases of dengue fever, after a record of 66 in 2022, knowing that the tiger mosquito is present in almost the entire metropolis.
