Break bone fever warning as first case of dengue detected in France

Holidaymakers heading to continental Europe are being warned to keep an eye on any symptoms of illness they have when they are there in case -- with dengue fever recently detected in France for the first time. The 44-year-old British woman was infected with dengue fever otherwise known as break-bone fever while visiting family in a small village in the south of the country.

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease that can cause severe flu-like symptoms and occasionally develops into a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue. There has been a sharp rise in the number of cases of dengue fever in Europe with Brits heading to the likes of Croatia, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain all affected. The World Health Organization (WHO) says the most common symptoms are high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and a rash.