UK tourists in France warned as disease 'which kills 25 per cent' hits 600 cases

UK tourists have been warned after a disease which kills a QUARTER of patients hit 600 cases in France. France has reported 600 more cases of dengue fever, a potentially fatal infection spread by mosquitoes, since last month as health experts issue warnings over the tropical disease.

Most people with dengue recover without any ongoing problems. The risk of death among those with severe dengue is 0.8 per cent to 2.5 per cent, and with adequate treatment this is less than 1 per cent. However, those who develop significantly low blood pressure may have a fatality rate of up to 26 per cent.

Public Health France announced today that almost 20 per cent of the more than 2,800 cases were imported from Guadeloupe or Martinique. It comes as UK holidaymakers prepare to fly out to the European Union holiday hotspot for the Summer Olympic Games in July and August.

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Climate change is creating favourable conditions for the tiger mosquito to spread, said the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). ECDC director Andrea Ammon said: "Europe is already seeing how climate change is creating more favourable conditions for invasive mosquitoes to spread into previously unaffected areas and infect more people with diseases such as dengue. Increased international travel from dengue-endemic countries will also increase the risk of imported cases, and inevitably also the risk of local outbreaks."

Ms Ammon advises people take "personal protective measures", adding that "early detection of cases, timely surveillance, further research and awareness-raising activities are paramount in those areas in Europe most at risk”. Dengue fever is endemic in more than 100 countries around the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO reports there are more than six million cases and 7,000 deaths reported each year, with cases more common in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.