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Mosquitoes: "an unprecedented situation", cases of chikungunya, dengue and West Nile are exploding in mainland France
Cases of tropical diseases linked to mosquito bites have continued to increase in France in recent days, Public Health France announced on Wednesday.
By Le Parisien with AFP
August 20 , 2025 at 9:23 p.m.
"A worrying and unprecedented situation." In recent weeks, metropolitan France has been facing a significant increase in cases of tropical diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya, and West Nile . Transmitted by mosquito bites, the summer of 2025 is shaping up to be a historic one.
"We've already reached almost the total of the previous season before even passing this peak period," laments Rachel Bellone, a researcher in the Arbovirus and Insect Vectors unit at the Pasteur Institute.
This Wednesday, Public Health France identified "27 episodes of chikungunya , totaling 154 cases in mainland France," representing an increase of four outbreaks and forty cases compared to the previous week. This is a situation of unprecedented magnitude.
The same increase in cases of dengue fever , also transmitted by mosquito bites, has been recorded. Seven outbreaks have been identified for 13 cases, compared to six outbreaks and eleven cases last week.
West Nile fever , which is not transmitted by the tiger mosquito but by the Culex variety, more common in metropolitan France, is also very virulent. 13 cases were recorded this summer, most of them in the Paris region.
“More and more important outbreaks”
An explosion of cases linked mainly to the widespread spread of the tiger mosquito across the entire territory, the latter being a vector of dengue and chikungunya .
A "quite worrying" situation for Rachel Bellone, compared to previous summers. "In the early years, when we had the first detections, it wasn't necessarily recurrent. So the outbreaks are becoming more and more numerous and significant," she explains.
The reason for this explosion in cases? The widespread presence of tiger mosquitoes across the country, favored by the establishment of a warm climate across the whole of France.
" The tiger mosquito arrived in the south of France in 2004 and, in 20 years, it has colonized almost the entire territory. And there are epidemics all over the world: when people travel and return to the territory, they encounter the mosquito, a competent vector, all the conditions are met for transmission," adds Rachel Bellone.
These three diseases have similar symptoms, resembling a flu-like condition with fever and muscle aches.
Mosquitoes: "an unprecedented situation", cases of chikungunya, dengue and West Nile are exploding in mainland France
Cases of tropical diseases linked to mosquito bites have continued to increase in France in recent days, Public Health France announced on Wednesday.
By Le Parisien with AFP
August 20 , 2025 at 9:23 p.m.
"A worrying and unprecedented situation." In recent weeks, metropolitan France has been facing a significant increase in cases of tropical diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya, and West Nile . Transmitted by mosquito bites, the summer of 2025 is shaping up to be a historic one.
"We've already reached almost the total of the previous season before even passing this peak period," laments Rachel Bellone, a researcher in the Arbovirus and Insect Vectors unit at the Pasteur Institute.
This Wednesday, Public Health France identified "27 episodes of chikungunya , totaling 154 cases in mainland France," representing an increase of four outbreaks and forty cases compared to the previous week. This is a situation of unprecedented magnitude.
The same increase in cases of dengue fever , also transmitted by mosquito bites, has been recorded. Seven outbreaks have been identified for 13 cases, compared to six outbreaks and eleven cases last week.
West Nile fever , which is not transmitted by the tiger mosquito but by the Culex variety, more common in metropolitan France, is also very virulent. 13 cases were recorded this summer, most of them in the Paris region.
“More and more important outbreaks”
An explosion of cases linked mainly to the widespread spread of the tiger mosquito across the entire territory, the latter being a vector of dengue and chikungunya .
A "quite worrying" situation for Rachel Bellone, compared to previous summers. "In the early years, when we had the first detections, it wasn't necessarily recurrent. So the outbreaks are becoming more and more numerous and significant," she explains.
The reason for this explosion in cases? The widespread presence of tiger mosquitoes across the country, favored by the establishment of a warm climate across the whole of France.
" The tiger mosquito arrived in the south of France in 2004 and, in 20 years, it has colonized almost the entire territory. And there are epidemics all over the world: when people travel and return to the territory, they encounter the mosquito, a competent vector, all the conditions are met for transmission," adds Rachel Bellone.
These three diseases have similar symptoms, resembling a flu-like condition with fever and muscle aches.
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