In the last Weekly epidemiological bulletin (BEH), Public Health France provides an update on surveillance of chikungunya, of the dengue fever and Zika virus infections in France. Indeed, the tiger mosquito which appeared for the first time in 2004 in the Maritime Alps, extends its presence in the territory from year to year. It is henceforth present in 30 departments metropolis, which increases the risk of autochthonous transmission of viral diseases in these areas where the mosquito circulates.
In 2016, mainly imported cases
In 2016, 34 cases of chikungunya, 184 cases of dengue, all imported, and 781 cases of Zika virus infection, including 12 indigenous cases by sexual transmission, were reported in mainland France by the mandatory reporting system (DO).
• For the 34 confirmed cases of chikungunya, two people were hospitalized and no deaths were recorded. Most of them came from Latin America or the Caribbean and from Asia.
• For the 184 confirmed cases of dengue fever, 61 people were hospitalized and no deaths were recorded. Ditto, most of the cases came from Asia, the Caribbean or Latin America.
• For the 781 cases of Zika virus infection, 36 were hospitalized and one death was recorded. Most cases (90%) came from French territories in America.
“In metropolitan France, over the whole of 2016, if no autochthonous case by vector transmission was identified, 12 autochthonous cases by sexual transmission of infection
Zika virus have been described” points out the BEH.
Fight against the spread of mosquitoes
If Zika virus infections were at the heart of the concerns in 2016, we must not neglect to
as much the risks of emergence of chikungunya and dengue fever in mainland France. “Since 2010, eight episodes of autochthonous transmission have been recorded in the South of France, the latest being the dengue outbreak in 2015 in Nîmes“ point out the health authorities.
The latter therefore remind us of the need to put in place protective measures against the tiger mosquito and to fight against its spread.
Read also :
A solar trap to catch mosquitoes
Learn more about disease-carrying mosquitoes
