As sustained heatwaves increase the risk of infectious diseases across Europe, ECDC scales up action and calls for cooperation

While the current heatwaves are making headlines, it is the continuously higher temperatures of an ever longer duration that create the conditions for many infections to spread. This summer, ECDC’s ongoing monitoring and data collection highlights four areas of particular importance:

Foodborne diseases: These are one of the most frequent summer illnesses, with warmer temperatures accelerating the risk of growth of bacteria in food. 

• Ensuring good hygiene and washing fruit and vegetables before eating them as well as cooking food thoroughly, particularly meat, can help prevent infection.

Vibriosis: Warm, low-salinity coastal waters such as the Baltic Sea or river estuaries provide optimal conditions for Vibrio bacteria, which cause Vibriosis. ECDC recently launched an updated interactive data visualisation that predicts where the risk of infection may be higher.

• Avoiding swimming with open cuts, scratches or recent piercings, and making sure that seafood from these areas is well cooked helps reduce the likelihood of infection.

Mosquito-borne diseases: Longer warm and humid seasons are allowing invasive mosquitoes to thrive in regions where they were previously rare or not present at all. Mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue, chikungunya and West Nile virus, are becoming an increasing public health concern in Europe.

• Insect repellent, protective clothing and indoor protection measures such as window screens, air conditioning or mosquito nets offer good protection. It is also important to avoid leaving stagnant water close to homes and gardens, as this is an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Tick-borne diseases: Ticks are found across Europe, and the season during which they are active is becoming longer as spring and autumn become milder in many places. Infected ticks can transmit Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), which can lead to serious long-term complications.

• Wearing long sleeves and long trousers when hiking or spending time in parks can help prevent tick bites, as well as checking for ticks and removing them after spending time outdoors. A vaccine effective against tick-borne encephalitis is available.

ECDC has developed practical information on these and other health issues that become particularly important over the summer months, helping to protect both individuals and the wider community.

At the same time, as climate change increases the range of public health threats, there is a growing need for longer-term strategic collaboration and cooperation across the human, environmental, and animal sectors. A shared commitment to work across disciplines is brought together by the EU’s One Health approach, which underlines the need for cooperation to ensure the health of people, animals, plants, and our shared environment.

ECDC regularly assesses the implementation of the One Health approach in the EU, helping member states to strengthen their preparedness and resilience in the face of heatwaves and other extreme weather conditions. The most recent assessments found that more than half of EU member states have a national climate change adaptation plan, although work is still needed to ensure that dedicated measures are in place to address the public health impacts of extreme weather events across sectors. 

More information on European cooperation and joint action in recognition of the close interconnection between the health of people, animals, and the environment is available here.