Mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya could spread via the Olympics to countries where they are not normally prevalent, warn global health experts, as authorities step up disease monitoring in the French capital. More than 11 million visitors are expected to descend on the French capital for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with around 1.5 million travelling from abroad, according to latest projections from the Parisian tourist office.
It comes amid an increased risk of the tropical disease dengue in France in the face of a perfect storm of warm, damp weather combined with growing numbers of tiger mosquitos driven northwards by global warming. Most people infected with dengue exhibit no symptoms and there is a real possibility that some may be bringing the disease with them – and others returning with it to their home countries – according to disease specialists. Najmul Haider, a lecturer at Keele University, in the United Kingdom, told SciDev.
Net : “ Mass gatherings [like the Olympics] always bring some sort of risk. If [travellers] are infected with dengue, it is very likely they might be a source of infection in France.” Osman Dar, consultant physician in global health at the UK Health Security Agency says diseases picked up at the event could spread rapidly in a country where that disease is not already established, quickly overwhelming a healthcare system ill-equipped for an outbreak.
“ The importation of diseases is particularly proble.