US Edition
Debilitating tropical virus can spread in cool weather, posing a greater health risk than previously thought
- The UKCEH reported that chikungunya can spread at temperatures as low as 13°C, raising concerns about transmission in Europe.
- Rising international movement and warmer conditions mean the spread of non-native species, with record 2025 outbreaks in France and Italy and a rise in travel-related cases .
- Modelled seasonal windows indicate the UKCEH risk map shows transmission may last 2–3 months across Europe and 4–6 months in southern and eastern Spain and Portugal, with high risk in Malta from March to November.
- Control measures advised include fumigation, habitat removal, public advice, and targeted health resources, with the UK Health Security Agency coordinating surveillance at transport hubs.
- Looking ahead, UKCEH plans to create Europe-wide risk maps for Zika and West Nile to predict climate-driven spread of chikungunya and assess establishment risks in the UK.
50 Articles
50 Articles
"Quite shocking" - this is how researchers describe their own new calculations showing that the chikungunya virus can spread further north in Europe than previously thought.
An extremely painful tropical disease called chikungunya can now be transmitted by residents in most of Europe, including Romania, showing a study cited by The Guardian.
New study reveals severely painful disease can be transmitted across dozens of countries: '[The] expansion … is just a matter of time'
Rising temperatures and a tenacious, established invasive species can now transmit an "excruciating" tropical disease across most of Europe, as detailed in a new study in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. What's happening? Chikungunya, a vector-borne illness spread by infected mosquitoes, affects more than 1 million people each year, according to the European Climate and Health Observatory. The Asian tiger mosquito transmits the chikun…
Observador
The virus represents "the health threat in Europe greater than previously thought, because it can be transmitted when air temperatures are as low as 13 degrees Celsius," says a new study.
British researchers have analysed about 50 scientific papers on mosquito vectors of the virus, and are alerting about the effect of temperature rise in its spread in Europe.
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