Dengue in Europe: Locally acquired cases rise to 90
Europe has reported a sharp increase in indigenous dengue fever cases in the past week. Three countries have been affected—France, Spain and Italy.
France
Through September 18, Sante Publique France has reported 57 cases of local transmission of dengue fever. The municipalities of The Crau in Var department and Saint Cecilia the Vines in Vaucluse department have reported the most cases with 24 and 18, respectively.
Spain
A total of 8 cases have been declared to date in Catalonia. Two cases required hospital admission, 4 have presented mild symptoms and two more cases have been asymptomatic. Two of the people affected are not residents of the Spanish state and it has been communicated by the Center for Coordination of Alerts and Health Emergencies (CCAES) of the Ministry of Health.
The eight cases currently identified have a possible common exposure in a specific area of a municipality in Tarragonès. Appropriate measures have been taken to prevent and control mosquitoes both in the area where the focus can be located and also, as a precaution, in other nearby areas.
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The study of the outbreak continues, active surveillance of possible affected people is being carried out, and therefore the detection of more cases in the coming days is not ruled out.
Italy
From 1 January to 17 September 2024, the national surveillance system has reported 450 confirmed cases of Dengue (425 associated with foreign travel and 25 autochthonous cases, median age of 40.5 years, 48% male and no deaths).
In continental Europe (excluding territories in endemic areas for DENV), the first autochthonous cases of dengue, not associated with travel to endemic countries, were detected starting in 2010 in Croatia and France. In 2023, several episodes of autochthonous transmission were documented simultaneously in three European Union member countries with over 100 reported cases of human infection: in France (43 cases in 8 clusters), Spain (3 cases) and Italy (82 cases in at least 4 clusters). In Italy, as in the rest of Europe, dengue is mainly present as an imported disease associated with travel (in 2023 in Italy 280 confirmed cases of infection associated with international travel were reported compared to 82 autochthonous).