Heightened risk of vector-borne disease highlighted

Vector-borne diseases are those spread by mosquitoes, sand-flies, ticks and rodents. They include diseases such as dengue, West Nile and chikungunya fever, nephropathia epidemica and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), which all have the potential to cause outbreaks in parts of Europe.

The outbreak of chikungunya fever in the area of Ravenna, Italy, last summer is an illustration of the risk.

The initial findings of the risk assessment were presented recently by ECDC in Stockholm, at the end of a two-day meeting of experts from across Europe. The final report on the assessment will be published later in the year.

www.ecdc.europa.eu