NewsDesk @bactiman63

Officials with ARS Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur reported on July 29 a locally transmitted dengue fever case in an individual from Toulon in Var Department.

Aedes albopictus
Image/CDC

The patient did not travel to a dengue-endemic area in the previous 15 days and is considered France’s and Europe’s first autochthonous case of dengue.

To prevent the spread of the disease, mosquito control activities took place in the neighborhood where the affected person lives. The objective of this operation  : to eliminate the breeding places (places of nesting) and adult mosquitoes to prevent them from biting another person. To do this, the Interdepartmental Mosquito Control Agreement (EID) operates on public roads and in private gardens. These mosquito control actions are accompanied by a door-to-door public information campaign and the distribution of brochures.

In parallel with the mosquito control system, epidemiological surveillance actions are being stepped up to identify people who could be infected.

Aedes aegypti merchandise

Finally, hospitals, private doctors and medical analysis laboratories are also mobilized in the sector concerned, to identify people who may have symptoms of dengue fever and report them to the ARS. Similar actions are also carried out in a district of the commune of Hyères, which the affected person frequented during the period when he could be contaminated.