A health expert has issued a stark warning that the 10 million visitors expected in France this summer could inadvertently trigger a 'super-spreader event', carrying a deadly virus back to the UK.
Mark Booth, a senior lecturer in Parasite Epidemiology at Newcastle University, has raised concerns specifically about the upcoming Paris Olympics. Following several cases of dengue fever reported in Paris in 2023, Booth anticipates a surge as crowds flock to the city for the global sporting event.
The incidents from 2023 marked the most northern spread of dengue to date, and notably, these infections were locally acquired in Paris, not imported by travellers from tropical regions.
In an article for The Conversation, Mark Booth highlighted the French government's awareness and proactive measures: "The French government knows there is a risk of dengue. In Paris, hundreds of sites are being regularly checked for the presence of the dengue-carrying mosquitoes."
The Olympics is set to come to Paris later this summer (Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)Although dengue is transmitted exclusively via mosquito bites and not from human to human contact, the sheer volume of people visiting could lead to them being bitten by infected Aedes mosquitoes. The infected visitors could then transport the virus when they return to their home nations.
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Should they be bitten again by local mosquitoes, it could result in the further spread of the disease.
Mark warned: "Aedes has spread considerably further than in 2016, and the number of dengue cases worldwide has increased dramatically in the same period. In 2016 there were 5.2 million cases reported worldwide. Halfway through 2024, there have already been 7.6 million cases.", reports Gloucestershire Live.
He also highlighted the risks associated with the upcoming Paris Olympics: "Visitors from more than 200 countries are expected in France for the Olympics. Many of those countries are already experiencing dengue this year."
"For the Paris Olympics to become a super-spreader event, several factors must overlap. There needs to be enough mosquitoes, enough susceptible and already-infected people, enough time and enough mosquito bites," he added.
Detailing the adaptability of the tiger mosquito, he said: "The tiger mosquito is perfectly adapted to the urban Paris environment. It needs just the smallest amount of water in a small container to lay its eggs. It preferentially feeds on humans, at dawn and dusk. The eggs themselves can withstand dry conditions for months. Once wet again, the eggs will hatch."
Mark also pointed out a particularly concerning factor: "What makes this situation potentially dangerous for Paris is that some of these mosquitoes may have dengue already inside them, passed down from their mother. This could significantly reduce the number of bites needed to start an epidemic."
"Within the time frame of the Olympics, an infected athlete or spectator could be bitten once by a mosquito and seed an epidemic in a week or so," he revealed.
"Each female mosquito can lay up to 200 eggs at a time. Most dengue cases are asymptomatic. People infected before or during the Olympics may have no idea they are carrying the virus. They might take the virus back home and seed an epidemic there without ever knowing it."
Mark warned that those who do get bitten, may not necessarily present as sick and therefore could carry an transmit the infection onwards.
"There will be no public health emergency in Paris because the event itself is the risk factor. Anyone living, working, visiting, competing, volunteering or even just passing through Paris during the Olympic period is going to be part of a huge natural experiment whether they know it or not," Mark concluded.
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