Travel alert as UK tourists warned of killer bug sweeping Europe

The disease is spreading due to climate change

British tourists have been warned of a rise in cases of a tropical disease in parts of Europe. Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, has been spreading rapidly due to climate change, according to new research from KU Leuven University.

The disease is caused by a parasitic flatworm. Warming conditions have made southern Europe a more hospitable environment for the freshwater snails which carry the parasite.

The disease is the second most prevalent infectious disease on the planet after malaria, with more than 200 million reported cases each year. Patients contract the infection through exposure to contaminated rivers, lakes, and ponds.

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Symptoms can start with skin rashes and potentially progress to serious complications including anaemia, abdominal pain, and blood in urine or stools if untreated. Without treatment patients can suffer long term health effects, Mirror reports.

This can include infertility, bladder cancer, liver fibrosis, and developmental delays in children. Scientists are looking into the temperature tolerances of the freshwater snails as waters in southern Europe warm up.

A team from KU Leuven, the Royal Museum for Central Africa and the University of Copenhagen have conducted the research. Tim Maes, a biologist at KU Leuven, said: "We find that these snails can easily adapt to new conditions...they can thus easily colonise new regions like Europe."

Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Greece will predominantly have climates promoting the survival of the snail in the next 100 years, according to predictive climate models. Since 2013, Schistosomiasis has been found on the French island of Corsica and more recently Almeria, in Spain.

Tine Huyse, a researcher from KU Leuven and the Royal Museum for Central Africa, said research has shown the hardy snail can thrive in a temperate climate. They said: "You need all three elements, snail, parasite and humans, to complete the infection circle."