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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/feb/18/tropical-disease-chikungunya-transmitted-europe-study>
"An excruciatingly painful tropical disease called chikungunya can now be
transmitted by mosquitoes across most of Europe, a study has found.
Higher temperatures due to the climate crisis mean infections are now possible
for more than six months of the year in Spain, Greece and other southern
European countries, and for two months a year in south-east England. Continuing
global heating means it is only a matter of time before the disease expands
further northwards, the scientists said.
The analysis is the first to fully assess the effect of temperature on the
incubation time of the virus in the Asian tiger mosquito, which has invaded
Europe in recent decades. The study found the minimum temperature at which
infections could occur is 2.5C lower than previous, less robust, estimates,
representing a “quite shocking” difference, the researchers said.
Chikungunya virus was first detected in 1952 in Tanzania and was confined to
tropical regions, where there are millions of infections a year. The disease
causes severe and prolonged joint pain, which is extremely debilitating and can
be fatal in young children and older adults.
A small number of cases have been reported in more than 10 European countries
in recent years, but large-scale outbreaks of hundreds of cases hit France and
Italy in 2025.
Sandeep Tegar, at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) and lead
author of the study, said: “The rate of global warming in Europe is
approximately double the rate of global warming at global scale and the lower
temperature limit for virus spread matters a lot, so our new estimates are
quite shocking. The northward expansion of the disease is just a matter of
time.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
