How France is Gearing Up to Tackle Dengue Ahead of 'Super-Spreader' Paris Olympics

New Delhi: Ahead of the Paris Olympics, France has geared up to tackle dengue as millions of visitors are expected to arrive to witness the sports event which could become a super-spreader event for dengue.

Strengthening its efforts to fight the mosquito-borne disease, France's apex health body launched an operation earlier in June to fight the spread of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases in the country.

The Paris Olympics will begin on July 26 and conclude on August 11.

In view of the sports event, the ARS launched a campaign to check the mosquito numbers in Paris by deploying 526 nesting traps later to be sent for testing, according to a report by an english daily.

The concept of "super spreader" in infection epidemiology means that a small population, even just one person, could be responsible for the cases.

France has sent on ground its "dengue detectives" to address the issue. The mission of the "dengue detectives" is to identify the hotspots of dengue, locate mosquito eggs, and help curb the spread of the virus in the cities.

These "detectives" from the Regional Mosquito Control Agency (ARD) are targeting the Aedes albopictus, found in the hot, wet summer conditions of bustling cities like Paris.

This comes following a severe outbreak of bedbug infestation across public transport networks in France last year.

In 2023, data analytics firm Airfinity had warned of a 50-fold jump in locally transmitted dengue cases across France by 2030 owing to global warming.

The Aedes albopictus, commonly known as the Asian tiger mosquito, is responsible for spreading diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika virus. Until recently, these mosquitoes were typically only present in parts of Africa, Asia and the Americas but since they have been present in Europe, the cases of dengue has increased manifold in the last few years.