Some 26 cases of autochthonous dengue fever have been reported in mainland France since the start of the year, a level higher than in previous years, health authorities announced on Wednesday, stressing the need to protect against mosquito bites.
They have been identified in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Occitanie regions.
These cases of "indigenous" dengue occurred in people who had not traveled to the usual area where the virus circulates, overseas or abroad, in the 15 days preceding the onset of symptoms.
Their level is higher than that observed in previous years.
Since 2010, the French public health agency has recorded barely more than ten indigenous cases in its heaviest annual reports.
In 2020, the health authorities had identified two cases of autochthonous dengue and in 2021, 13 cases.
A disease transmitted by mosquitoes
Dengue fever is an infectious disease that is transmitted from person to person through the bite of an infected tiger mosquito.
The virus circulates regularly in the French departments of the Antilles, as well as in the French islands of the Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
In mainland France, the tiger mosquito, a potential vector of dengue fever, is currently permanently established in 67 departments.
Symptoms are most often flu-like (fever, headache, body aches) and appear within 3 to 14 days after the mosquito bite.
Most often benign, dengue can however be complicated by hemorrhagic forms.
Treatment is symptomatic, including pain and fever.
"The prevention of bites and the fight against the proliferation of mosquitoes are essential to limit the occurrence of epidemic foci", insists the Ministry of Health.
In particular, he recalls the importance of storing anything that may contain water, sheltering from the rain, wearing loose-fitting, covering clothing, using a skin repellent, or even, if necessary, mosquito nets on openings (doors and windows).
Consult your doctor immediately
The Ministry of Health also reiterates the need to consult your doctor immediately in the presence of suggestive symptoms (high fever of sudden onset, muscle or joint pain, eye pain, fatigue, headache), in particular if a diagnosis of Covid -19 has been ruled out and if they appear within fifteen days of returning from a trip to the tropics.
At the same time, mosquito control operations are set up by the regional health authorities as soon as an imported case or a local case is reported.
