Mosquito-borne Diseases in Belgium: A Real Threat or just a Hype?
Authors/Creators
-
1.
Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
- 2. Royal Museum for Central Africa
Description
In Europe several local transmission events of mosquito-borne diseases were reported
recently. Similarly, in Belgium mosquito-borne transmission events are likely to occur in the near future.
Hence, this paper aims to assess the mosquito-borne disease threats in Belgium by focusing on three
scenarios evaluating the risk of autochthonous transmission of (1) arboviruses by exotic Aedes mosquitoes,
(2) malaria, and (3) West-Nile virus. Based on our assessment it is clear that the situation
regarding mosquito-borne disease risk is changing in Belgium and that mosquito-borne diseases need
to be considered as a public health threat.
Notes
Paper presented at the Section of Natural and Medical Sciences held on 29 March 2022. Text received on 8 September
2022 and submitted to peer review. Final version, approved by the reviewers, received on 18 July 2024.