Assessing dengue knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices in France and Italy: A cross-sectional study using participatory surveillance cohorts
5 affiliations
- 1Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health, Paris, France
- 2ISI Foundation, Turin, Italy
- 3Aix Marseille Univ, Université de Toulon, CNRS, CPT, Marseille, France
- 4School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
- 5The Alan Turing Institute, London, United Kingdom
Abstract
The dengue virus, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, causes an estimated 100–390 million infections annually worldwide. With no treatment available, mitigation and prevention involve reducing mosquito breeding and limiting feeding opportunities. Due to changing climate conditions, Aedes mosquitoes are increasingly established in Europe causing more local cases. Thus, understanding population knowledge, attitudes, and practices in areas where dengue is an emerging threat is necessary for effective prevention. We designed a cross-sectional survey collecting knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about dengue in the general population, leveraging the French and Italian 2024 cohorts of the participatory surveillance network InfluenzaNet. We analyzed pooled responses from 2,500 participants in mainland France and 404 in Italy. Via bias-adjusted (age, sex and education) logistic and ordinal regression, we examined determinants of awareness of dengue, knowledge of its characteristics, adoption of preventive measures, and vaccination willingness. Over 91% of included participants were aware of dengue as a disease, and 14.6% had sought information. Seeking information and concern levels were significant determinants of dengue knowledge, preventive measures adoption, and vaccination willingness. Better knowledge of dengue characteristics, vaccination status, residence in areas with detected autochthonous cases, and presence of comorbidities were associated with greater adoption of preventive measures. Living in rural areas was associated with lower knowledge and vaccination willingness but higher adoption of preventive measures. Finally, 0.4% of participants had received a dengue vaccine (not recommended to the general population), and 54.6% would accept a vaccine if offered. Low-risk perception was the most common reason for refusal. Our study highlights the interplay between knowledge, attitudes, behaviours, socio-demographic, individual and contextual characteristics of the participants related to dengue in a non-endemic context. Targeted communication strategies accounting for these factors are essential to enhance preparedness and outbreak prevention in regions where dengue represents an emerging threat.
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BibTeX
@article{calmon2026assessing,
title = {{Assessing dengue knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices in France and Italy: A cross-sectional study using participatory surveillance cohorts}},
author = {Lucille Calmon and Alessandro De Gaetano and Mattia Mazzoli and Nicolò Gozzi and Marion Debin and Clément Turbelin and Romain Marmorat and Nicola Perra and Alain Barrat and Vittoria Colizza and Daniela Paolotti},
journal = {PLOS Global Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pgph.0007162},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0007162},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Assessing dengue knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices in France and Italy: A cross-sectional study using participatory surveillance cohorts
AU - Lucille Calmon
AU - Alessandro De Gaetano
AU - Mattia Mazzoli
AU - Nicolò Gozzi
AU - Marion Debin
AU - Clément Turbelin
AU - Romain Marmorat
AU - Nicola Perra
AU - Alain Barrat
AU - Vittoria Colizza
AU - Daniela Paolotti
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/23
JO - PLOS Global Public Health
DO - 10.1371/journal.pgph.0007162
UR - https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0007162
AB - The dengue virus, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, causes an estimated 100–390 million infections annually worldwide. With no treatment available, mitigation and prevention involve reducing mosquito breeding and limiting feeding opportunities. Due to changing climate conditions, Aedes mosquitoes are increasingly established in Europe causing more local cases. Thus, understanding population knowledge, attitudes, and practices in areas where dengue is an emerging threat is necessary for effective prevention. We designed a cross-sectional survey collecting knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about dengue in the general population, leveraging the French and Italian 2024 cohorts of the participatory surveillance network InfluenzaNet. We analyzed pooled responses from 2,500 participants in mainland France and 404 in Italy. Via bias-adjusted (age, sex and education) logistic and ordinal regression, we examined determinants of awareness of dengue, knowledge of its characteristics, adoption of preventive measures, and vaccination willingness. Over 91% of included participants were aware of dengue as a disease, and 14.6% had sought information. Seeking information and concern levels were significant determinants of dengue knowledge, preventive measures adoption, and vaccination willingness. Better knowledge of dengue characteristics, vaccination status, residence in areas with detected autochthonous cases, and presence of comorbidities were associated with greater adoption of preventive measures. Living in rural areas was associated with lower knowledge and vaccination willingness but higher adoption of preventive measures. Finally, 0.4% of participants had received a dengue vaccine (not recommended to the general population), and 54.6% would accept a vaccine if offered. Low-risk perception was the most common reason for refusal. Our study highlights the interplay between knowledge, attitudes, behaviours, socio-demographic, individual and contextual characteristics of the participants related to dengue in a non-endemic context. Targeted communication strategies accounting for these factors are essential to enhance preparedness and outbreak prevention in regions where dengue represents an emerging threat.
SN - 2767-3375
ER -