Latest news with #chikungunya
E&E News
23-05-2025
- Health
- E&E News
France grapples with tropical diseases amid spread of tiger mosquitoes
French regions are waging war against tiger mosquitoes as the country records rising cases of tropical diseases such as dengue, zika and chikungunya. Since Jan. 1, France has already seen 1,123 imported cases of dengue, 728 imported cases of chikungunya and four imported cases of zika. In May alone, French health authorities said they recorded 225 cases of chikungunya, 152 cases of dengue and one case of zika — also all imported. The numbers raise alarm for health authorities, who are warning people to watch out for tiger mosquitoes, the insects most responsible for carrying and spreading the diseases. Advertisement While a person infected with dengue or chikungunya cannot pass the virus to another person, they can infect other mosquitoes, which can further spread the disease. Zika can be transmitted from an infected person through sexual intercourse.
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Health
- Reuters
US CDC accepts recommendations for chikungunya vaccines
May 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has accepted its advisory panel's recommendations on vaccines for chikungunya, a virus transmitted by mosquitoes. The recommendations were approved on May 13, 2025, and are now the official recommendations of the CDC. The final recommendations will assist physicians in choosing appropriate vaccines for patients and will also guide insurance coverage policies in the U.S. The health agency is also expected to decide on recommendations for vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and meningococcal disease, a bacterial infection. However, details regarding the approval status of the RSV and meningococcal vaccine recommendations are currently not available on the CDC's website. Both Bavarian Nordic ( opens new tab and Valneva ( opens new tab make vaccines for chikungunya.
E&E News
16-05-2025
- Health
- E&E News
Dengue, chikungunya risk becoming endemic in Europe as mosquitoes head north
A new study published Thursday warns that tiger mosquitoes are increasingly spreading to Europe because of climate change, raising the risk that tropical diseases such as dengue and chikungunya become endemic across the continent. Nearly half the global population is now at risk of contracting dengue and chikungunya, which were once limited to the tropics, due to the warming planet. Both viruses, transmitted by mosquitoes, can occasionally be fatal. The symptoms include a high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and rash. The tiger mosquito, in particular, is venturing farther north as global temperatures rise due to man-made climate change. Advertisement The study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, examined how climate and other factors have influenced the spread of dengue and chikungunya in Europe over the past 35 years. It found that outbreaks have become more frequent and severe since 2010, in line with rising temperatures.
Malay Mail
15-05-2025
- Health
- Malay Mail
Dengue, chikungunya creeping into Europe as climate warms, study warns
PARIS, May 16 — The feverish diseases dengue and chikungunya could soon become endemic in Europe as the tiger mosquitoes that transmit these viruses spread farther north due to global warming, according to new research published Thursday. Roughly half the world's population is already at risk of contracting the two diseases, which were once mainly confined to tropical regions. Both viruses cause fevers and can be deadly in rare cases, spread by the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The latter, which is known as the tiger mosquito, is venturing further north as the world warms because of human-driven climate change. The new study, published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal, analyses the impact a number of factors including the climate have had on the spread of the two diseases in Europe over the last 35 years. The frequency and severity of outbreaks have increased since 2010 as temperatures have risen, according to the study. Yet just over 300 cases of dengue were recorded in the European Union in 2024 — the hottest year on record — compared to 275 over the previous 15 years. Dengue outbreaks have now hit Italy, Croatia, France and Spain. 'Our findings highlight that the EU is transitioning from sporadic outbreaks of Aedes-borne diseases towards an endemic state,' it said. The higher temperatures soar, the greater the risk of outbreaks caused by tiger mosquitoes, the European research team said. Under worst-case climate change scenarios, outbreaks of both diseases could rise to five times the current rate by 2060, they projected. Outbreaks have been more common in wealthier areas, suggesting that better testing is able to spot the virus — and that cases could be going undetected in poorer areas, the study suggested. The French Indian Ocean island of Reunion has recently endured a deadly outbreak of chikungunya. Tiger mosquitoes can also transmit the zika and West Nile viruses, which were not studied in the latest research. — AFP
Medscape
14-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Suspend Use of Chikungunya Vaccine in Adults Aged 60+
Healthcare providers should pause in their use of the chikungunya live vaccine (Ixchiq) while investigation of serious neurologic, cardiac, and other adverse events in vaccine recipients is ongoing, according to a safety communication issued jointly by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A total of 17 serious adverse events, two of which resulted in deaths, have been reported as of May 7, 2025, according to the communication. The events occurred in adults aged 62-89 years who received the live chikungunya vaccine worldwide during postmarketing availability. Six of the events occurred in the United States. Most of the serious adverse events associated with the chikungunya vaccine in the United States and overseas that have been reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) have occurred in patients with underlying medical conditions and may not be causally linked to the vaccine, according to the communication. Some of the serious adverse events reported are consistent with complications from chikungunya disease, and the FDA-approved vaccine prescribing information warns that severe or prolonged chikungunya-like adverse reactions may occur. In clinical trials comparing the vaccine with placebo, severe chikungunya-like reactions were observed in 1.6% of vaccine patients vs none of placebo patients. Postmarketing reports of adverse events included one death from encephalitis. The FDA approved the vaccine for the prevention of chikungunya virus in adults aged 18 years or older who are at increased risk for exposure, and the vaccine contains a live, though weakened, version of the virus, according to the communication. Approximately 80,000 doses of the vaccine have been distributed worldwide to date. The FDA and CDC will continue to evaluate postmarketing safety reports, and the agencies recommend that healthcare providers refrain from administering the vaccine to adults aged 60 years or older while the investigations are ongoing. Healthcare providers are advised to report any adverse events in recipients of the chikungunya vaccine to VAERS.
