The Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Corsica has announced that“a first autochthonous case of dengue » was detected on the island, according to a statement released on Tuesday, October 4, 2022.
a case “indigenous” means that it is caused by the bite of a tiger mosquito infected with the virus on the territory and that the person affected has not traveled to the usual area where the virus circulates, overseas or abroad, in the 15 days preceding the onset of symptoms.
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Investigations to detect possible other cases
“To date, this is the only known case in Corsica” and confirmed by the National Reference Center for Arboviruses (CNR), specializing in the study of viruses having mosquitoes in particular as a vector, underlined the ARS.
The health agency clarified that “investigations, in conjunction with Public Health France, are underway to identify possible other cases”, pointing out in passing that the infected person is no longer carrying the virus and that “His state of health did not cause any concern”.
With around thirty cases of autochthonous dengue fever, the year 2022 presents a significantly higher balance sheet than in previous years, following 14 cases in 2020 and two in 2021. Until now these cases were concentrated in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Occitanie regions, according to the General Directorate of Health.
The tiger mosquito present in 67 departments
Since 2010, Public Health France has recorded barely more than a dozen indigenous cases in its heaviest annual reports for France. On the other hand, the virus circulates regularly in the French departments of the Antilles as well as in the French islands of the Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
In mainland France, the Aedes albopictus mosquito or tiger mosquito, a potential vector of dengue fever, is currently permanently established in 67 departments.
Symptoms are most often flu-like (fever, headache, body aches) and appear within 3 to 14 days following the mosquito bite. Most often benign, dengue can however be complicated by hemorrhagic forms.
