Weatherwatch: climate crisis causing tropical viruses to spread

Infections such as dengue fever on rise in Europe as virus-transmitting mosquitoes expand habitats This summer, dengue fever got a foothold in France. Traditionally this viral infection, which is spread by mosquitoes, has been confined to tropical regions including parts of Asia, the Americas and the Caribbean, but as climate warms, dengue-spreading mosquitoes are making themselves comfortable in France.In 2010, France recorded its first locally transmitted cases of dengue - transmitted by French mosquitoes and caught by someone who hadn't travelled to an at-risk country. Since then there have been about 12 cases of locally transmitted dengue each year, but this summer that jumped to nearly 40 cases. Meanwhile, more than 570 cases of West Nile virus - another tropical mosquito-transmitted virus - have been recorded in Europe this year, with most in Veneto, northern Italy. Continue reading...