ONE person has been diagnosed with mosquito-borne chikungunya fever in Paris just days ahead of the Olympics, French health officials have reported.
The viral disease causes acute fever and joint pain, and there is no cure, but it is rarely fatal.
2
2
It is widespread in the tropics, but the person in Paris is believed to have caught it locally on July 18 – just one week before the Olympics started.
In June, France enlisted ‘tiger mosquito detectives’ to prevent an outbreak at the Paris Olympics.
Last summer, Paris was fumigated for the first time to stop disease-ridden tiger bugs from rapidly spreading north to infect people in the French capital.
The name of the disease means “to become contorted” in the African Kimakonde language, as it causes severe muscle and joint pain.
Symptoms also include the sudden onset of fever, headache and fatigue.
Most patients recover after a few days but in some cases, the joint pain may persist for weeks, months or even longer.
The tiger mosquito, also known as Aedes albopictus, arrived in southern Europe in the first decade of this century.
Since then, it has become “established” in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.
Known for the black and white stripes along its body and legs, it can transmit several tropical diseases, including Chikungunya, dengue and zika.
Europe saw its first outbreak of Chikungunya in Italy in 2007.
Since then, France and Spain have seen cases too.
WHY ARE THE BUGS COMING TO EUROPE?
Health experts say the bug has thrived on the continent in part because of climate change,
Warmer weather shortens the time taken for the eggs to develop while winters are no longer cold enough to kill off the pests.
London could become the next hotspot for the irrepressible critter within the next decade, experts have previously warned.
Last year, the UK government installed additional mosquito traps at ports, service stations, and truck stops throughout south England to counter the growing spread of dengue fever.
The bugs have already been spotted six times in southeast England since 2016.
What happens when a mosquito bites?
WHEN a female mosquito lands on you, it inserts its proboscis into you.
This is a tiny mouth hole of six needles that saw their way into your skin.
Two of the needles are serrated like a saw blade, but the proboscis is formed in a way to minimise pain so you don’t immediately swat the mosquito off.
There is a soft part that hits you first and then the sawing action is combined with a light vibration, so that less force is required.
Some scientists are actually trying to design similarly-shaped micro-needles for more painless injections.
Mosquitoes don’t just suck your blood. They actually inject some of their saliva into you as well.
And while scientists are still trying to tease apart exactly which chemicals in the spit do what, some of them seem to act as numbing agents to keep you from noticing you’ve been bitten.
Others seem to act as vasodilators and anticoagulants, keeping your blood vessels open and your blood from clotting.
There are over 100 proteins in mosquito saliva, and not all of their functions are even known yet, but we do know that that cocktail of chemicals is why we get itchy.
So your body actually has an allergic reaction to mosquito bites.
Your immune system recognises the proteins and starts up a histamine response.
This brings white blood cells to the area, and also activates other immune tools that cause itchiness.
Source: Reactions
