typically found in tropical and subtropical climates, are becoming more common in Europe as a result of increased travel and warmer weather driven by climate change. Last year, there were 1,436 cases of West Nile virus and 304 dengue infections acquired in Europe, up from 201 the previous two years combined, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Italy made up 238 of those dengue cases, the largest outbreak the bloc has ever seen. This may be another record-breaking year. France already has seven active outbreaks of chikungunya this summer, which the ECDC said indicates the mosquito season started earlier than usual. “It’s an exponential curve,” Jan Semenza, an environmental epidemiologist at Umeå University in Sweden, told Euronews Health. Dengue can spread easily because most infected people have no or mild symptoms, but it can cause severe illness and death. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, body aches, nausea, and rash. Chikungunya is rarely fatal, but it can cause similar symptoms to dengue as well as debilitating joint pain that can last months or even years. (Euronews)