Dengue fever warning as climate change to 'drive mosquitoes with disease to UK'
A deadly mosquito-borne disease could be coming to Britain in just a few years' time because of global warming, scientists have warned.
Dengue fever is a tropical disease that usually only poses a threat to travellers heading on far-flung holidays abroad, being found in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands. Cases have also been recorded in Croatia, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. But a new study has found that the infection - which begins with pain behind the eyes before leading to a potentially deadly fever - is likely to be found in a number of new locations over the coming years due to rising temperatures. London is among the cities at risk.
According to models used in the new French study, the invasion of dengue-carrying Asian Tiger mosquitoes is expected to spread to the north of France within a decade, before making the short trip across the Channel to southeast England.
The Asian Tiger species has already been found in Kent, though there is no evidence yet of an established population in the county.
Study author Andrea Radici PhD, from the the Université de Montpellier in France, said: "Extrapolating from the results, it is estimated that the mosquito could establish itself in northern France within a decade, from where it could easily reach London - which is already climatically suitable for hosting this vector."
Other major European cities on the at-risk list include Vienna, Strasbourg, and Frankfurt.
This year, the UK Health Security Agency announced it had placed specialist mosquito traps at motorway service stations across England. It is hoped these will catch insects arriving on lorries which carry vector-borne diseases, such as dengue and the West Nile virus.
The traps are also targeted at the Culex pipiens mosquito, which has ravaged Britain's native blackbird population with the Usutu virus in recent years.
What is dengue fever?
Dengue fever, also known as break-bone fever, is a viral infection transmitted to humans via the bite of infected mosquitoes.
In most people, it results in a mild illness that clears within two weeks - but a small number can develop a more severe, and potentially fatal reaction to the infection.
According to the NHS, symptoms of severe dengue include a high temperature, a severe headache, pain behind your eyes, muscle and joint pain, feeling or being sick, swollen glands, or a blotchy rash made up of flat or slightly raised spots.
Anyone who shows symptoms of severe dengue after travelling to a country where dengue is found should call 999.
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