Dengue fever is becoming more prevalent in parts of Europe due to climate change, researchers on Friday warned after a woman from the UK was infected.

The 44-year-old woman, who has not been identified, was infected with the tropical disease during a trip to Nice, southern France, in September 2022.

She had experienced fever, headache, muscle pain and a rash for three days but did not require further medical treatment.

Her diagnosis was made by the UK’s Rare Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) after the woman visited an emergency department after returning home to the UK, and doctors sent an urgent sample for analysis.

Owain Donnelly from the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, said, “This individual was part of an outbreak of over 30 locally transmitted cases in the south of France in 2022, which highlights the rapidly changing epidemiology of dengue.”

The doctor added, “With climate change, particularly hotter temperatures and more rainfall, and increasing global trade and tourism, we may see more parts of Europe with the right combination of factors for dengue outbreaks. Surveillance and reporting mechanisms were important in ensuring we have an accurate understanding of dengue spread.”

The woman had returned from the south of France the day before the symptoms started and had not travelled to other countries. The family she stayed with in France also experienced similar symptoms.

Dengue fever is spread by the bite of mosquitoes infected with the dengue virus, typically in tropical regions in Asia, South America and Asia.

However, climate change has led to the increased presence of the Asian tiger mosquito, a carrier of the disease, throughout southern Europe.

Most UK infections of the virus are diagnosed in travellers who have recently visited these regions. It has flu-like symptoms but an estimated 75 per cent of cases are asymptomatic and can go undetected.

In severe cases, one to five per cent of patients develop potentially fatal severe dengue or hemorrhagic fever.

Mr Donnelly presented the case to the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Copenhagen.

Between June and September 2022, the Agence Regionale de Sante (ARS) in France reported three separate outbreaks of dengue virus transmission contracted on the national territory without patients having travelled abroad. 

(dpa/NAN)