It looked harmless enough but the seagull could pose an existential threat to the penguins with a devastating bird flu outbreak killing hundreds of millions of birds across the world over the last few years.

That is why 41 Humboldt penguins were queued up near their pool in the Paris Zoological Park on a cold December morning at the start of influenza season.

A zookeeper whispered some reassuring words to one called Cissou as a veterinarian injected him with his annual bird flu vaccine shot.

After getting his jab, Cissou waddled off back into his enclosure.

Around 10 zoo staff took the chance to weigh and measure the penguins, collecting feathers, taking blood samples, examining their feet and checking their microchips.

In a month, the young penguins born this year will get a booster shot.

The zoo, which is in Vincennes park in the east of the French capital, has never detected a case of bird flu.

But it is home to wild birds such as crows, magpies, geese and parakeets, and an outbreak would be catastrophic for the zoo animals.

Last week French health authorities warned this bird flu season is already looking like it will be the worst in a couple of years.

- Decades of experience with jab -

Bird flu was detected in Antarctica for the first time early last year, causing concern among scientists about the fate of the penguins there.

Sylvie Laidebeure, a vet at the Paris zoo, told AFP "these animals are generally threatened in their natural habitat" as she inserted a needle into the breast of a Humboldt penguin, which are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Laidebeure said the zoo carries out a "risk-benefit ratio" before vaccinating each species.

There can be problems such as inflammatory reactions and "restraining them is also extremely stressful for the birds", she said.

The only birds to get a jab at the zoo are those that live outdoors, or in enclosures with mesh that could allow them contact with wild birds. These include hornbills, vultures, rheas and ostriches, marabou storks and cranes.

Though the practice remains rare across Europe, France has been vaccinating birds against avian influenza in zoos since 2006.

That was long before it became the first European country to vaccinate ducks in farms nationwide in 2023, using the same vaccine at a different dosage.

That extra two decades of experience has led to several scientific publications, Laidebeure said.

It also helped scientists learn how well the vaccine worked on different species -- and showed that it was safe and effective.

"I think that helped reassure people" before it was rolled out on farms, Laidebeure said.

Volcanic eruptions may have brought Black Death to Europe
Paris, France (AFP) Dec 5, 2025 - Previously unknown volcanic eruptions may have kicked off an unlikely series of events that brought the Black Death -- the most devastating pandemic in human history -- to the shores of mediaeval Europe, new research has revealed.

The outbreak of bubonic plague known as the Black Death killed tens of millions and wiped out up to 60 percent of the population in parts of Europe during the mid-14th century.

How it came to Europe -- and why it spread so quickly on such a massive scale -- have long been debated by historians and scientists.

Now two researchers studying tree rings have suggested that a volcanic eruption may have been the first domino to fall.

By analysing the tree rings from the Pyrenees mountain range in Spain, the pair established that southern Europe had unusually cold and wet summers from 1345 to 1347.

Comparing climate data with written accounts from the time, the researchers demonstrated that temperatures likely dropped because there was less sunlight following one or more volcanic eruptions in 1345.

The change in climate ruined harvests, leading to failed crops and the beginnings of famine.

Fortunately -- or so it seemed -- "powerful Italian city states had established long-distance trade routes across the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, allowing them to activate a highly efficient system to prevent starvation," said Martin Bauch, a historian at Germany's Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe.

"But ultimately, these would inadvertently lead to a far bigger catastrophe," he said in a statement.

- Deadly stowaways -

The city states of Venice, Genoa and Pisa had ships bring grain from the Mongols of the Golden Horde in central Asia, which is where the plague is thought to have first emerged.

Previous research has suggested that these grain ships brought along unwelcome passengers: rats carrying fleas infected with Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague.

Between 25 and 50 million people are estimated to have died over the next six years.

While the story encompasses natural, demographic, economic and political events in the area, it was ultimately the previously unidentified volcanic eruption that paved the way for one of history's greatest disasters, the researchers argued.

"Although the coincidence of factors that contributed to the Black Death seems rare, the probability of zoonotic diseases emerging under climate change and translating into pandemics is likely to increase in a globalised world," study co-author Ulf Buentgen of Cambridge University in the UK said in a statement.

"This is especially relevant given our recent experiences with Covid-19."

The study was published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment on Thursday.

]]> Sat, 07 FEB 2026 10:20:04 AEST Paris, France (AFP) Dec 5, 2025 - Previously unknown volcanic eruptions may have kicked off an unlikely series of events that brought the Black Death -- the most devastating pandemic in human history -- to the shores of mediaeval Europe, new research has revealed.

The outbreak of bubonic plague known as the Black Death killed tens of millions and wiped out up to 60 percent of the population in parts of Europe during the mid-14th century.

How it came to Europe -- and why it spread so quickly on such a massive scale -- have long been debated by historians and scientists.

Now two researchers studying tree rings have suggested that a volcanic eruption may have been the first domino to fall.

By analysing the tree rings from the Pyrenees mountain range in Spain, the pair established that southern Europe had unusually cold and wet summers from 1345 to 1347.

Comparing climate data with written accounts from the time, the researchers demonstrated that temperatures likely dropped because there was less sunlight following one or more volcanic eruptions in 1345.

The change in climate ruined harvests, leading to failed crops and the beginnings of famine.

Fortunately -- or so it seemed -- "powerful Italian city states had established long-distance trade routes across the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, allowing them to activate a highly efficient system to prevent starvation," said Martin Bauch, a historian at Germany's Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe.

"But ultimately, these would inadvertently lead to a far bigger catastrophe," he said in a statement.

- Deadly stowaways -

The city states of Venice, Genoa and Pisa had ships bring grain from the Mongols of the Golden Horde in central Asia, which is where the plague is thought to have first emerged.

Previous research has suggested that these grain ships brought along unwelcome passengers: rats carrying fleas infected with Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague.

Between 25 and 50 million people are estimated to have died over the next six years.

While the story encompasses natural, demographic, economic and political events in the area, it was ultimately the previously unidentified volcanic eruption that paved the way for one of history's greatest disasters, the researchers argued.

"Although the coincidence of factors that contributed to the Black Death seems rare, the probability of zoonotic diseases emerging under climate change and translating into pandemics is likely to increase in a globalised world," study co-author Ulf Buentgen of Cambridge University in the UK said in a statement.

"This is especially relevant given our recent experiences with Covid-19."

The study was published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment on Thursday.

]]> Sat, 07 FEB 2026 10:20:04 AEST Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (AFP) Nov 26, 2025 - Brazilian authorities on Wednesday approved the world's first single-dose dengue vaccine, which they hailed as a "historic" achievement as cases of the mosquito-borne disease soar globally due to rising temperatures.

Dengue, known for intense flu-like symptoms, crushing fatigue and body aches, reached record global levels in 2024 and researchers have attributed its spread to climate change.

Brazil's health regulatory agency ANVISA authorized the use of Butantan-DV, developed by the Butantan Institute in Sao Paulo, for people aged 12 to 59.

Currently, the only dengue vaccine available worldwide is TAK-003, which requires two doses administered three months apart, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The single dose, developed after eight years of trials across Brazil, will allow for faster and simpler vaccination campaigns.

"This is a historic achievement for science and health in Brazil," Esper Kallas, director of the Butantan Institute, a public research center, told a press conference in Sao Paulo.

"A disease that has plagued us for decades can now be fought with a very powerful weapon," he added.

The new vaccine showed 91.6 percent efficacy against severe dengue during the clinical trials which involved more than 16,000 volunteers.

Dengue's unpleasant symptoms have earned it the nickname "breakbone fever." It can provoke hemorrhagic fever in severe cases, and death.

It is transmitted by infected Aedes mosquitoes, which have expanded beyond their usual areas, leading to dengue cases in Europe or parts of the United States where they were not typically found.

Globally, the WHO reported more than 14.6 million cases and almost 12,000 deaths in 2024, the highest number ever recorded.

Half of these deaths took place in Brazil.

Researchers at Stanford University in the United States published a study in 2024 estimating that global warming was responsible for 19 percent of dengue cases that year.

Brazil has reached an agreement with the Chinese company WuXi Biologics to deliver approximately 30 million doses of the vaccine in the second half of 2026, Health Minister Alexandre Padilha told the press conference.

]]> Sat, 07 FEB 2026 10:20:04 AEST Huehuetla, Mexico (AFP) Oct 15, 2025 - Mexican survivors of floods and landslides that killed at least 66 people last week have appealed for urgent aid, saying they are worried about disease outbreaks as rotting animal carcasses pile up in the mud.

Vultures circle over the town of Huehuetla in the central state of Hidalgo, which, along with Puebla to the south and Veracruz in the east, bore the brunt of days of torrential rains.

Overflowing rivers coursed through villages, sweeping away homes, roads and bridges and triggering landslides.

Authorities say 75 people are still missing.

Aid has been slow to arrive in Huehuetla, an impoverished Indigenous town of about 22,800 inhabitants.

The floods knocked out power and debris from landslides left roads damaged or unpassable. Layers of mud coat every business on Huehuetla's main street.

Maria Licona, a 55-year-old resident who was forced to evacuate her home, told AFP she feared that uncollected dead animals would spread disease.

"We're going to get sick," she warned.

- 'Not enough help' -

Refrigerators, mattresses, sofas and stuffed toys peek out from underneath the rubble, with the mud in some points rising as high as two meters (6.5 feet).

Residents are now engaged in the Herculean task of clearing mud from their homes, some with their bare hands.

AFP saw only 10 soldiers helping the clean-up effort, although a dozen others were seen making their toward the town on foot.

"There's not enough help," said Bartolo Quirino, a 42-year-old beekeeper.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said more than 4,000 army and navy personnel were working in disaster-hit areas to repair roads.

"We wish all this could be faster, but cleaning and road-clearing teams are arriving," she said.

Many people in Huehuetla were still traumatized by the disaster.

"We saw how the houses were being dragged away," 57-year-old Maria Luisa Maximino said tearfully.

She had survived the floodwaters by climbing to the upper floor of her neighbor's house with her 15-year-old grandson.

Dolores Tellez, a 55-year-old housewife who had been pulled by neighbors from a torrent of mud, said rumors of a new landslide on Sunday triggered panic.

Heavy rains often occur during Mexico's wet season from May to October, but last week's downpours were made more dangerous by the combination of a tropical system from the Gulf of Mexico and a cold front from the north, according to meteorologists.

]]> Sat, 07 FEB 2026 10:20:04 AEST Washington DC (UPI) Aug 15, 2025 - A team of Chilean scientists has sequenced the first complete genomes of the H5N1 avian influenza virus found in birds in Antarctica.

The work, led by the University of Chile and the Chilean Antarctic Institute, was published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, marking a milestone in pathogen research on the frozen continent.

The study, which included sequencing the virus in birds such as Antarctic skuas and terns, provides crucial information for understanding the evolution of H5N1 and its potential spread to other species.

Sequencing a virus's genome is like reading its complete genetic code. In this case, genomic analysis of avian flu found in Antarctica showed the virus is part of the variant that has affected South America.

"Sequencing and genetically characterizing this virus in Antarctic birds allows us to understand its behavior in an extreme, pristine and particularly vulnerable ecosystem," said Víctor Neira, a professor at the University of Chile's Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences and a member of the research team.

Specifically, the phylogenetic analysis showed a high genetic similarity to viruses detected in gulls and fur seals on South Georgia Island, confirming the existence of a viral migration route from South America to Antarctica.

The finding underscores the need for constant global epidemiological surveillance and highlights the virus's risk of mutation, experts said. By infecting new species in a different environment, the virus could become more dangerous and pose a threat to human and animal health worldwide.

According to the research team, its greatest contribution to Antarctic science is providing essential data on biodiversity and emerging risks in the region.

In late 2023, H5N1 reached Antarctica for the first time, breaking the isolation that had kept the continent free of the virus.

The first cases were recorded in skuas on South Georgia Island, and during 2024 and 2025, the virus spread to the Antarctic Peninsula and the Weddell Sea, affecting birds such as penguins, cormorants and gulls, as well as marine mammals including fur seals and elephant seals.

Recent scientific expeditions detected nearly 200 infected animals from 13 species in more than 20 locations, confirming the outbreak has taken hold in the region and poses a serious threat to its fragile biodiversity.

]]> Sat, 07 FEB 2026 10:20:04 AEST New York Aug 9, 2025 - New York is waging a war on multiple fronts to combat the near ubiquitous rats that plague city streets and the subways, leaving some residents afraid to let their children walk on sidewalks. Faced with an overwhelming and ever-growing problem, officials have moved beyond gassing burrows to suffocate rodents and are now using high-tech mapping tools to try and sterilize the population. Alongside targeted interventions, officials are mounting an effort to educate the public about the need to avoid leaving behind food waste that feeds and sustains the rat population. Caroline Bragdon, director of neighborhood interventions for Pest Control Services within New York City's Department of Health, told AFP that the lack of food "stresses" rats and other vermin. "Perhaps this forces them to go further in search of food, but perhaps they simply have fewer offspring," she said. "That's usually what we're seeing. Fewer rats over time. Less breeding leads to less rat activity," Bragdon added. The city is testing out an arsenal of different tools in the Harlem neighborhood, aiming to find new products and methods to tackle the rats. For large, densely populated cities like New York -- with its 8.5 million inhabitants -- food sources for the rodents are bountiful, whether it's on sidewalks, in overflowing trash bins, or in parks. "Lately, I haven't felt that I have to run in between the mounds of trash to run away from rats because they have those new (sealed trash) containers," said Harlem resident Karen Del Aguila, 50. Rats, which survive on practically the same diet as humans, can flourish even on items discarded as trash -- like soda cans thrown into recycling bins, or crumbs given to pigeons, warned Bragdon. A rat needs one ounce (28 grams) of food per day to sustain itself, and it can have up to 12 offspring per litter. During its short life of less than a year, it can have between five and seven litters. The best way to counter the scourge of rats is to "remove their food source... So make it harder for them, then they're going to have to travel further to try and find something," said Alexa Albert, a supervisor for the city's pest control service. - 'It can be done' - She swiped her screen to show the street-level data logged on a rat tracker app used by those involved in the crusade against rodent infestation. The city health department's 70 inspectors use the mobile app to detect, report and monitor rodent activity -- as well as plot abatement tactics. Inspectors go door to door asking businesses and residents to clean buildings, stores, and sidewalks. Authorities also now offer training on how to combat rats, taken by thousands of residents and building managers. In October 2022, New York City vaunted a "trash revolution," aimed at installing sealed containers to allow the removal of black bags of organic waste from sidewalks after rats surged during the coronavirus pandemic. Pre-pandemic, their population had been cut by as much as 90 percent in some areas. "So we know it can be done," said Bragdon, who added that she hoped 2025 would be a "turnaround year." Local resident Jessica Sanchez said she had observed much fewer rats in her neighborhood. "Not a long time ago, when you went to put out the trash, five of them came out," she said. "I was even afraid to put my son on the floor." The rat warriors are seeking to learn the rodents' dietary habits throughout the year by using samples of different food types to identify what bait they are most likely to take. In 2024, complaints about rat activity dropped 25 percent compared to the year before, according to official data. But so far, only Manhattan's Chinatown has managed to bring the rat population under control. ]]> Sat, 07 FEB 2026 10:20:04 AEST Beijing (AFP) Aug 6, 2025 - Cases of chikungunya fever are rising in southern China, prompting local authorities to take measures to curb its spread.

Here is what you need to know about the disease:

- What is chikungunya? -

Chikungunya is caused by a virus that can be passed to humans by infected mosquitoes, with most cases occurring in Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Symptoms include fever and joint pain, which may persist for some time but are rarely fatal.

Because the symptoms of chikungunya resemble other mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and Zika, it can sometimes be hard to determine the extent of an outbreak.

Two vaccines for chikungunya have been approved in some countries but are not yet widely used.

Infected people are typically given medicines like paracetamol to ease their symptoms.

- How serious is China's outbreak? -

More than 7,700 people in the southern province of Guangdong have been infected in recent weeks, according to an article by the China Association for Science and Technology that was widely carried by state media.

Most cases have occurred in the industrial centre of Foshan, where 2,770 people fell ill between July 27 and August 2, the provincial disease control office said on Sunday.

Dozens of infections have also been detected in neighbouring Guangzhou, while semiautonomous Hong Kong reported its first case on Saturday.

Chief expert Kang Min said "the rapid rise of the epidemic has been preliminarily curbed" in Guangdong, according to a statement from the province's disease control office.

But Kang warned that officials still faced "complex and severe challenges" due to the high risk of imported cases in the international trade hub as well as rain and typhoons that help mosquitoes to thrive.

- What are authorities doing? -

Top officials in Guangdong agreed at a meeting on Saturday to "go all out to win the... war of annihilation against the epidemic", according to an official statement.

They stressed the need to "mobilise the public" to eliminate the conditions in which mosquitoes breed, for example, by removing pots and cans, unblocking ditches and clearing pools of stagnant water.

Footage by state news agency Xinhua showed doctors at a hospital in Foshan's Shunde district tending to a ward of chikungunya patients lying on beds surrounded by mosquito nets.

Other interventions seemed more dramatic.

The New York Times reported that some infected people in Foshan were "given no choice" but to go to hospital, while others had workers enter their homes without consent in search of stagnant water.

State media and local governments have published images of workers in helmets and face masks spraying insecticide in parks, gardens and overgrown buildings, where mosquitoes can linger.

Law enforcement officers have threatened fines of up to 1,000 yuan ($140) for businesses that do not take adequate steps to prevent mosquitoes from breeding, according to the provincial disease control office.

And one subdistrict in Foshan cut power to the homes of some residents who failed to comply with disease controls, according to an online statement from a local government committee.

- Should people be worried? -

The United States has issued a travel advisory urging increased caution when going to affected areas in China.

Some of China's measures evoke its pandemic strategy, when Beijing wielded city-wide lockdowns, lengthy quarantines and travel bans to curb the spread of Covid-19.

But comparisons to the pandemic are overblown.

Unlike Covid, chikungunya is caused by a known pathogen, is not transmitted via human contact and very rarely proves fatal.

Chinese authorities have stressed that the disease is "preventable, controllable and treatable" and the World Health Organization has not issued any special guidance on China's outbreak.

mjw/oho/sco

THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY

]]> Sat, 07 FEB 2026 10:20:04 AEST Beijing (AFP) July 8, 2025 - Chinese authorities have launched an investigation into the former mayor of the central city of Wuhan, Beijing's top anti-graft bodies said Tuesday.

Zhou Xianwang served as the top Communist Party official in the Chinese metropolis from 2018 until early 2021, playing a major role in the handling of the first known outbreak of Covid-19.

Beijing's two key anti-corruption watchdogs said Zhou was suspected of "serious violations of disciplines and laws" -- a common euphemism for graft.

He "is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation", according to a statement by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission.

The statement did not provide details about Zhou's alleged misconduct or the period of time during which it took place.

Zhou has served in a range of high-level roles, including from 2021 to 2023 as vice chairman of a provincial committee under China's top political advisory body.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has engaged in an expansive anti-corruption campaign since coming to power over a decade ago, ostensibly aimed at stamping out graft at all levels of the ruling Communist Party.

Supporters say the drive promotes clean governance, while critics say it serves as a tool for Xi to oust political opponents.

]]> Sat, 07 FEB 2026 10:20:04 AEST Geneva (AFP) June 27, 2025 - All hypotheses on how the Covid-19 pandemic began remain open, the World Health Organization said Friday, following an inconclusive four-year investigation that was hamstrung by crucial information being withheld.

The global catastrophe killed an estimated 20 million people, according to the WHO, while shredding economies, crippling health systems and turning people's lives upside-down.

The first cases were detected in Wuhan in China in late 2019, and understanding where the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid came from is key to preventing future pandemics.

However, a lengthy investigation launched by the UN's health agency said that pending further data, the origin of Covid and how it first spread remains elusive.

"As things stand, all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference, referring to the two main hypotheses as to how the pandemic began.

- Expert investigation -

An initial WHO-Chinese joint report in March 2021 concluded that the virus most likely jumped from bats to humans via an intermediate animal.

It deemed a leak from Wuhan's virology laboratories -- known for their research on coronaviruses -- to be "extremely unlikely".

However, that investigation faced harsh criticism for lacking transparency and access, and for not seriously evaluating the lab-leak theory.

Tedros launched another investigation, setting up the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), comprising 27 international experts, in July 2021.

Their 78-page report was published on Friday.

It said the weight of available evidence suggests a spillover from animals -- either directly from bats, or through an intermediate host.

However, it could not conclude with certainty where and when this happened, nor whether the Wuhan wet market was where the virus first spilled over into humans.

That said, the market "appears to be the location for amplification of infection in humans", leading to widespread transmission.

"Evidence for widespread infections or cases in any other countries prior to December 2019 is lacking," it added.

While spillover was the best supported theory on the evidence currently available, "until further requests for information are met, or more scientific data becomes available, the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and how it entered the human population will remain inconclusive," SAGO chair Marietjie Venter said at the press conference.

Lab leak theories "could not be investigated or excluded", she said, because much of the needed information had not been made available.

The experts requested unpublished information from other countries, notably Germany and the United States, but without success, she said.

Earlier this week, one SAGO member resigned and three others asked for their names to be removed from the report.

- 'Crucial question' -

"Over the past five years, we have learned a lot about Covid-19 but there is one crucial question about the pandemic that we have not yet answered: how it started," Tedros said.

"Despite our repeated requests, China hasn't provided hundreds of viral sequences from individuals with Covid-19 early in the pandemic, more detailed information on animals sold at markets in Wuhan, and information on work done and biosafety conditions at laboratories in Wuhan," he said.

He said WHO has requested access to intelligence reports by governments around the world on the origins of Covid-19.

US President Donald Trump's administration has officially embraced the lab leak theory.

- Moral imperative -

Tedros said finding out how Covid-19 started was a moral imperative for those who lost their lives in the pandemic and to prevent further outbreaks.

He said the virus was continuing to evolve, take lives and leave people suffering with post-Covid conditions, or so-called long Covid.

Tedros said the WHO is appealing to countries with information about the origins of Covid-19 to share information.

SAGO said it would continue to evaluate any new, sound scientific evidence and update its findings accordingly.

]]> Sat, 07 FEB 2026 10:20:04 AEST Dhaka (AFP) June 24, 2025 - Mosquito-borne dengue fever was rarely a major problem in Bangladesh's coastal districts, but some hospitals are so full of those with the potentially deadly virus that patients are treated on the floor.

As climate change drives erratic weather patterns, experts point to a dire lack of clean drinking water in the wider delta -- where the snaking Brahmaputra and Ganges rivers reach the sea -- as a likely driving force for the surge.

Rakibul Islam Rajan said his two-year-old daughter keeps searching for her mother, Azmeri Mona Lisa Zareen, who died of dengue in early June in the southern region of Barisal.

"Zareen developed high fever... her blood pressure collapsed -- and then she couldn't breathe," said 31-year-old Rajan.

"Our daughter keeps searching for her from one room to another".

In the worst cases, intense viral fevers trigger bleeding, internally or from the mouth and nose.

Barisal has recorded nearly half of the 7,500 dengue cases across Bangladesh this year, according to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).

Five people have died there this year with dengue fever, out of 31 deaths recorded across the entire country of some 170 million people.

Numbers are still far below the deadly outbreak of 2023, when more than 1,700 people died across the South Asian nation, and more than 200,000 were infected.

In the Barisal district of Barguna, the hospital is packed full.

Barisal health chief Shyamol Krishna Mondal said it was the "worst we've seen".

Barguna's 250-bed public hospital was coping with more than 200 dengue patients.

"We couldn't even offer beds," Mondal said. "They are getting treatment while lying on the floor."

Kabirul Bashar, an expert on disease at Jahangirnagar University, said a lack of clean water was "one of the major reasons".

People store rainwater in containers, exactly the conditions mosquitoes love.

"The water distribution system is almost absent," Bashar said.

- 'Vulnerability is soaring' -

While a lack of clean water is a long-running problem, climate change is making it worse.

Rising seas driven by climate change threaten swathes of low-lying Bangladesh, with increasing numbers of powerful storms bringing seawater further inland, turning wells and lakes salty, according to government scientists.

Changing weather patterns, making once predictable rains uncertain, adds to the challenge -- with people storing rainwater when they can.

But Mushtuq Husain, a public health expert and adviser at IEDCR, said that the plentiful water storage pots also provided perfect mosquito breeding sites.

"We can't allow water stagnation anywhere -- that should be the rule of thumb, but it's not happening," he said.

"The vulnerability is soaring because of the high temperatures and erratic rainfall, which are conducive to mosquito breeding."

Bangladesh has recorded cases of dengue since the 1960s but documented its first outbreak of dengue haemorrhagic fever, a severe and sometimes fatal form of the disease, in 2000.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that dengue and other mosquito-borne viruses are spreading faster and further due to climate change.

About half of the world's population is now at risk of dengue, with an estimated 100 to 400 million infections occurring each year, and many of those causing only mild illness, according to the WHO.

Rajan, mourning his wife, worries that there will be more deaths to come, accusing local authorities of failing to stem mosquitoes.

"Dengue has taken her," he said of his late wife. "I don't know how many more are in the queue... but I don't see enough cleanup activities."

]]> Sat, 07 FEB 2026 10:20:04 AEST Subscribe to our daily selection of space, military, environment and energy newsletters responseText http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=0016gbbKsaiGSpQFojVO8ZoHw%3D%3D