Warning to Brit tourists heading for Ibiza this summer over dengue fever fears
TOURISTS heading to Ibiza this summer have been urged to be on the lookout for a nasty illness.
Health chiefs in the Spanish party island have issued an alert after dengue fever cases were detected.
It's an illness spread by mosquitoes and in most cases, isn't serious, the NHS states.
Dengue is very common in certain parts of the world, such as Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean, guidance states.
However, it has also previously been found in Croatia, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Madeira.
But after cases of the disease were detected In Ibiza, in two German tourists, medics are set to step up vigilance.
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The tourists had been on the island last year and were thought to have been travelling during the incubation period.
The Health and Emergencies Coordination Centre, under the Spanish Ministry of Health, has classified the forthcoming risk as "moderate".
On February 1, officials were alerted to the two cases, one confirmed and the other probable.
They were also informed of four cases with compatible symptoms.
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Medics said the confirmed case is a 27-year-old woman, who had been on the island in August 2022.
She had been travelling with her partner and 13-month old daughter and had started to display symptoms on August 31, just one day after her time on the island.
The probable case is a 37-year-old woman who was in the same town as the confirmed case.
She started symptoms on October 13.
The symptoms of dengue fever you must know
Dengue doesn't always cause symptoms, the NHS states.
If you do have them, they usually start four to 10 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
The signs are often similar to flu and include:
- a high temperature
- a severe headache
- pain behind your eyes
- muscle and joint pain
- feeling or being sick
- swollen glands
- a blotchy rash made up of flat or slightly raised spots – this can affect large areas of your body
The Spanish Health Ministry said a person who appears to have caught dengue in Mexico may have started the outbreaks since the individual was residing in the same area of Ibiza as the two German families.
"Thanks to surveillance of imported cases, a probable index case was identified, coming from Mexico, who began symptoms on August 11th and remained in the same locality in Ibiza as the two cases described between August 11th and 31st," said a spokesperson.
As reported by the CCAES, one of the potential dengue vectors is the mosquito 'Aedes Albopictus', present throughout the Spanish Mediterranean area and the Balearic Islands and in some areas of the interior and north of the country.
On the island of Ibiza it was first detected in 2014 and since then it is considered established throughout the island.
"After the knowledge of the cases, the Balearic authorities have planned the pertinent actions of surveillance and vector control and communication and information to the citizenship, to be carried out before the start of the season of vector activity and during the same," the spokesman added.
"The risk of new native cases in Ibiza, at this time of low vector activity is considered low, although this risk is considered moderate once the vector activity period begins (May-November)."
In October, there was an outbreak of the disease in France.
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French scientists had battled to contain an outbreak of the infection in Provence.
The insects are becoming more common in France and scientists predict that within four or five years they will be all over the country.