In EU, 400 Cases Of West Nile, 22 Deaths Through Mid-August In Record Heat & Rainfall

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This summer has seen a sharp spike in West Nile virus infections in Europe, following soaring temperatures, compared with the past four years. Until the middle of August, 400 cases of the disease, which is carried by mosquitos, were recorded in Europe, with 22 fatalities, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Countries affected include Italy, Greece, Hungary, Serbia and Romania, all of which have recorded cases of the tropical infection in the past.

The spike was due to an early start to the transmission season, caused by high temperatures followed by wet weather, conditions ideally suited to mosquito breeding, according to the World Health Organization’s regional office for Europe.

“We are all a bit taken aback about how fast these change are coming down the pipeline,” said Prof Jan Semenza, who leads on scientific assessment for the ECDC. “We are seeing more and more of these extreme weather events.”

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Southern France and Italy experienced an outbreak of Chikungunya in 2017. Semanza said there was concern about the rapid spread of the disease at the time, as it had happened in Rome, but the outbreak was contained. He and his team have developed models to predict the highest risk of imported diseases like dengue and to avoid “catastrophic” events or outbreaks where they are unprepared. They found the risk is worst in August, September and October, when many people travel, and that 50% of passengers from areas where dengue is prevalent travel through Rome and Milan airports.

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https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/aug/23/tropical-disease-outbreaks-are-growing-threat-in-europe-as-temperatures-rise