Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Scientists have found eggs of Aedes aegypti Mosquito In UK first time – a Mosquito Which spreads many tropical diseases.
Eggs were recently found in the net of a goods depot near Heathrow Airport And DNA testing confirmed it to be Aedes aegypti. search, led by UK The health protection agency also reported other findings of Aedes albopictus, the “Asian tiger.” MosquitoAt a site in Kent in summer 2024. Both species are aggressive and thrive in hot, humid conditions.
These eddies Mosquito Matters because they can spread viruses like dengue, chikungunya and ZikaThe outbreak of these diseases, which were once limited to the tropics, is now visible in Europe.
In 2024, more than 200 locally acquired dengue cases were recorded in Italy, mainly in the Marche region, while France and Spain also reported domestic dengue transmission. Chikungunya has become another European concern, with nearly 500 locally transmitted cases in France by 2025. Zika has not yet taken hold in Europe, but the same mosquito species could spread it if conditions allow.
Two related viruses, West Nile and Usutu, are also spreading northward across Europe. West Nile virus has spread across Europe to birds, horses and people, and has now been detected UK For the first time.
In the summer of 2023, scientists found West Nile virus genetic material in the wild Mosquito From specimens collected in Nottinghamshire. Usutu, which mainly infects birds, was first detected in London blackbirds in 2020 and has been found in birds or Mosquito Every year since then, it has now become endemic to the UK.
Both viruses belong to the same family as Japanese encephalitis, and although they spread primarily in birds and mosquitoes, they can also infect humans incidentally. They also tend to move together. Usutu is often established first, followed by West Nile as temperatures rise.
The UK Health Protection Agency says the range of West Nile has recently expanded “to more northern and western areas of Europe”. Together, these findings show how climate change is shifting mosquito-borne diseases northward.
About the author
Marcus Blagrove is Senior Lecturer in Integrative Virology at the University of Liverpool.
This article is republished from Conversation Under Creative Commons license. read the original article,
Laboratory studies have confirmed that native British mosquitoes can transmit these viruses in local UK-climate conditions. Research has shown that many species can become infected and spread the virus even at normal summer temperatures.
For example, the common native Culex mosquitoes of England were found to be able to transmit Usutu in their saliva only at 19 °C. In the same study, Culex pipiens and Culiseta annulata were able to transmit the UK Usutu strain, suggesting that the virus may be spreading northward.
Another experiment found that the salt-marsh mosquito Ochlerotatus (Aedes) detritus could transmit West Nile, but not dengue or chikungunya, at 21 °C. Combined, these results demonstrate that mosquitoes native to Britain are capable of carrying and transmitting viruses such as West Nile and Usutu if the right climatic conditions occur.
more welcoming
The pattern is clear: climate change and global travel are loading the dice together. Hot summers, mild winters and heavy rainfall are making Britain more favorable for these insects.
Climate models already predict that Ae albopictus could become established in southern England within the next few decades. At the same time, more people and goods are traveling between the UK and areas where these diseases are endemic, bringing with them both mosquitoes and infections.
The UK Health Protection Agency recorded hundreds of imported dengue and chikungunya cases last year. Each is a potential spark if the right mosquitoes are present.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency, a UK government agency, has warned that this progressive jump in mosquito-borne diseases is “primarily driven by the movement of people and global climate change”.
To put it bluntly, the UK is warming up to these tropical “vectors” and the viruses they carry. Already, Ae albopictus breeds widely in continental Europe, while local dengue and chikungunya outbreaks are appearing every year in the north. West Nile and Usutu are also following the same path.
A UK surveillance network coordinated by the Health Protection Agency with universities and local authorities is already monitoring sites where mosquitoes are most at risk of spreading. This coordinated approach is designed to catch incursions early and keep the UK ahead of the rapidly changing global disease map.
The combination of a changing climate, international travel and the ability of these insects to thrive means that both invasive mosquito species and the viruses they carry are closer to becoming established in the UK.
Continuous monitoring and early detection will be critical to catch intrusions before they spread. As Britain’s summers become hotter and wetter, insects and diseases once confined to the tropics are finding a new home – even in today’s less cold Britain.