Record Number of Imported Dengue Cases Reportedly Detected in France Ahead of 2024 Olympics

PARIS (Sputnik) - A record 1,679 imported dengue cases have been detected in European France since January 1 compared to 131 cases registered during the same period of 2023, French media reported, citing the head of the French General Directorate for Health, Gregory Emery.
Sputnik
The report said on Tuesday that authorities are calling for tighter control and preventive measures ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The newspaper cited Emery as saying that France has faced an "unprecedented situation," adding that the majority of cases have been imported from the French overseas departments of Martinique and Guadeloupe.
He added that preventive measures are particularly important ahead of the Olympics, which will be attended by a large number of foreigners. The report also cited France's Special Committee on Risk Monitoring, Integrated Surveillance and Applied Research as saying that imported cases of insect bite-borne diseases and their spread due to carrier mosquito activity are the main danger to the Olympics-like events.
France's National Authority for Health (HAS) will provide recommendations on dengue vaccination in June, the report said.
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The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11, while the Paralympics will run from August 28 to September 8.
Dengue fever is a dangerous vector-borne disease that is widespread in regions with subtropical and tropical climates. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the main carriers of the disease. Without carriers, the disease doesn't pose an epidemiological threat. Symptoms of dengue include a high fever, nausea, dizziness, headache and lumbar pain. The hemorrhagic variant of the fever is followed by severe internal bleeding caused by the collapse of blood vessels. According to the World Health Organization, the mortality rate from the severe form of the disease is 2.5% and can reach 20% without proper treatment.