There dengue fever is an infectious disease transmitted to humans by mosquitoes of the Aedes genus, the most widespread being the tiger mosquito. For the first time, an indigenous case of dengue fever has just been identified in Ile-de-France, more precisely in Limeil-Brévannes, in the Val-de-Marne department (94).
“An indigenous case is said to exist when the person contracts the disease without having traveled in an endemic area in the 15 days preceding the appearance of symptoms” explains the Regional Health Agency (ARS). This is not the first time, on French territory, that such cases have appeared. Indigenous cases have in fact already been reported in the Gard and in Haute-Garonne.
Dengue fever: is there a risk of spread?
For reduce the risk of spreading dengue, two successive mosquito control campaigns, have been planned in two localized areas of Limeil-Brévannes: the first took place on the night of Sunday October 15 to Monday October 16, the second is planned for the night of Friday October 20 to Saturday October 21 if weather conditions permit, and will be postponed otherwise. These mosquito control operations will be coupled with a field survey including door-to-door visits to local residents to detect other potential cases and relay prevention messages.
Contaminations on the rise in France
The proliferation of the tiger mosquito on French territory in recent years is responsible for hundreds of contaminations in 2022 according to the latest report from Public health France from July 11, 2023. Tiger mosquitoes can also transmit viruses such as chikungunya (23 cases) or Zika (6 cases).
Since 2006, surveillance of cases of infections by arbovirus (dengue, chikungunya, Zika) is put in place to limit the risks of transmission. The numbers of cases recorded include imported and indigenous contaminations. It is the latter which worries the experts in particular. As a reminder, a transmission is called indigenous when the patient has not traveled to an area where the virus is circulating strongly but has been bitten by an infected mosquito. In France, 9 indigenous transmissions of dengue were documented last year.
What are the symptoms of dengue?
Dengue fever is generally not serious with symptoms similar to those of the flu. It regresses in a few days. However, for some people, the disease develops into a more serious form, this is called dengue hemorrhagic fever which can be fatal. In the event of a bite, the symptoms to watch out for are:
- abdominal pain
- persistent vomiting
- bleeding from mucous membranes
- lethargy
There is currently no cure or vaccine for dengue fever.
Source : Public health France
