Climate change and disease risk: How the EU is responding

‘Climate change is reshaping disease risks, making preparedness more important than ever’, says Dr Florika Fink-Hooijer, Director General of HERA (Health Emergency Preparedness & Response) at the European Commission. Here, she outlines how the EU is responding to growing health threats posed by a changing climate

Climate change is increasing the frequency of heatwaves, wildfires, and vector-borne disease outbreaks. What role does HERA play in preparing Europe for these environment-linked health shocks?

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme events such as heatwaves and wildfires across Europe and globally. It also creates more favourable conditions for the spread of mosquitoes and ticks, which can carry human diseases. Rising temperatures, longer summers, milder winters and changing rainfall patterns enable invasive mosquitoes to spread into new areas and accelerate viral replication. Consequently, the risk of local transmission of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, and West Nile virus, and tick-borne diseases such as tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is increasing in Europe.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Europe is entering a phase where longer and more intense mosquito-borne disease transmission is becoming the ‘new normal’. (1) Vector-borne diseases should no longer be regarded as exotic or geographically confined, but as an expanding cross-border public health threat across the European Union. Although outbreaks remain seasonal and linked to imported cases, some diseases could become established through sustained local transmission. One example is the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), which can transmit diseases such as dengue and chikungunya, and has expanded steadily northwards. The species is now established not only across much of southern Europe but also in several central European countries, including Germany, Belgium, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.(2)

What is the current state of medical countermeasures for vector-borne diseases? What is the European Commission, through the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (Directorate-General HERA), doing to address the threat of mosquito-borne diseases?

Preparedness and response to vector-borne diseases depend on a combination of public health measures, including surveillance, haemovigilance, vector control, community engagement, clinical management, and where recommended, vaccination. Many of these interventions rely on the availability of effective medical countermeasures. Strengthening preparedness requires access to vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, personal protective measures and vector-control tools. However, significant gaps in medical countermeasures remain.

Vaccines are only available for some priority diseases, with no authorised vaccine for West Nile virus, Zika or CCHF. Existing dengue and chikungunya vaccines have limited use in outbreak response due to restricted target populations, dosing schedules, and delayed protection. The arsenal is even poorer in terms of therapeutics. There is no antiviral treatment for dengue, one of the fastest-growing mosquito-borne diseases globally. Also, no specific therapeutics exist for chikungunya, West Nile virus and CCHF, where treatment remains supportive.

Climate change is reshaping disease risks, making preparedness more important than ever.

In addition, limited availability of rapid point-of-care diagnostics hampers case detection and outbreak control. Vector control is also constrained by limited availability of approved biocides, insufficient evidence for novel techniques in the EU, and varying implementation across Member States. Repeated use of the same insecticides has increased mosquito resistance, reducing effectiveness.

The Commission works to ensure the development, production, procurement and availability of medical countermeasures, such as vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and personal protective equipment (PPE), before and during health emergencies. It supports several initiatives under Horizon Europe, EU4Health and international partnerships such as EDCTP3 to accelerate the development of new medical countermeasures for vector-borne diseases. Examples include a €20 million investment in new dengue treatments through large clinical trials implemented in partnership with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), €11.6mn to strengthen vector surveillance and control across Member States, and €10mn to develop faster, more accurate diagnostic tests for earlier detection and a stronger public health response.

In 2026, representatives from Member States, the European Commission and EU agencies called for a coordinated EU approach to improve preparedness for vector-borne diseases. Through the HERA Board, they recommended continued investment in vaccines, treatments, diagnostic tests, and tools to detect and control disease-carrying mosquitoes and ticks, while also accounting for climate change. (3) Additionally, as announced in the Medical Countermeasures Strategy, (4) the Commission will publish a preparedness roadmap for dengue, alongside roadmaps for other priority health threats. These roadmaps will assess needs, capacities, and gaps across threat scenarios and identify priorities ranging from research and development to manufacturing, procurement, and stockpiling.
Protecting Europe’s health requires anticipating future threats. Climate change is reshaping disease risks, making preparedness more important than ever. Rather than waiting for outbreaks, the European Commission invests in prevention, preparedness and rapid response to safeguard the health of all Europeans.

References

1. ECDC, World Mosquito Day 2025: Europe sets new records for mosquito-borne diseases
2. ECDC, Aedes albopictus – current known distribution: June 2025.
3. HERA Board Opinion on Medical Countermeasures (MCMs) for Vector-Based Diseases – Public Health
4. Medical Countermeasures Strategy – Public Health – European Commission