Climate service for Belgian
vector-borne disease management
Improved access and use of climate data for surveillance and prediction of tick-borne and mosquito-borne diseases in Belgium
Context
Vector-borne diseases are caused by bacteria, parasites and viruses that are transmitted by infected arthropod vectors, such as mosquitoes, ticks, sand flies and fleas. The presence of the diseases depends on the presence of vectors and animal/human reservoirs, which is influenced by many factors, such as climate change, international travel, trade and land use.
Over the past decades, vector-borne diseases, such as those transmitted by ticks and exotic mosquitoes, have increased in Europe as well as in Belgium which demonstrates the urgent need for real-time and structured access and use of climate data to allow timely surveillance and prediction of these vectors.
Objectives
The project Climate service for Belgian vector-borne disease management aims to develop a climate service custom-made for the “Vector-borne diseases and zoonoses” unit at the Belgian federal institute of public health or Sciensano, to address the rising impacts of climate change on public health by facilitating the surveillance and prediction of diseases related to vectors like ticks and exotic mosquitoes.
This service aims to operate in an automated way, ensuring a structured access and use of advanced and real-time climate data from:
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the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) (e.g. ERA5),
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the Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) operated by the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (RMIB).
Real-time climate data of temperature, humidity, and precipitation will be integrated into Sciensano’s disease monitoring and prediction systems (see schematic overview below). This will enable daily updates and provide spatially detailed data that reflects urban climate variations, offering timely insights for both tick and mosquito-borne disease management.
Highlights
December 2024: Stakeholder workshop at the Belgian Climate Center
The first user and stakeholder workshop in December 2024 gathered over 15 stakeholders from various relevant institutions, including the Flemish Government (Department of Care and Department of Environment), the Belgian Federal Government (FPS Public Health), the Institute of Tropical Medicine, the Spatial Epidemiology Lab (ULB), the Belgian Climate Risk Assessment Centre (CERAC), and Vivalis.
The workshop introduced the technical approach, data tools, and expected outcomes of the project. An interactive session also gave the opportunity to the broader community of stakeholders working on the health and environment interface, to discuss and express their specific challenges or gaps in addressing vector-borne disease management, features or functionalities of a climate service and the use of different networks and community platforms.
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November 2025: Progress and key achievements
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The prototype service is operational, integrating AI-driven modelling and statistical workflows to generate near-real-time climate maps at a high spatial resolution of 100 meters.
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Initial validation results for the AI model are available, and a full workflow assessment for integration within Sciensano’s infrastructure has been completed.
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March 2025: Training day for operational independence
A dedicated training session was held at Sciensano to prepare the team for the independent management of the climate service. The day covered the validation strategy and first AI model results, a review of initial test outcomes, technical implementation and documented code, and the final steps towards operationalisation, including data ownership and long-term data availability.
This transition is essential to guarantee the long-term sustainability and continued use of the service after the project contract ends. By combining climate science, AI innovation and public health expertise, this initiative demonstrates how cross-sector collaboration can build resilience against climate-sensitive diseases.
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"The training day helped us gain more insight into the validation and strengths of the calculations behind the climate service. In addition, our team also received additional explanation about the independent management of all scripts needed to run the climate service. This will enable us to further adapt in the future its use to the needs that exist around climate, vector-borne diseases and vectors." — Marie Hermy, researcher, Sciensano
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"The training day organised on the use of the climate service for vector-borne diseases was a very important opportunity for exchange between partners. This day enabled us to share our thoughts on the technical and scientific aspects of the project and ensured that we understood how the climate service works. This step is crucial to be able to use the service effectively in our future projects linking health and climate." — Raphael Rousseau, researcher, Sciensano​
Next steps
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The service is scheduled for implementation and operational testing at Sciensano starting from January 2026, ahead of the new mosquito and tick season.
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A final stakeholder workshop is planned for autumn 2026 to present the project's outcomes.
Facts​
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Budget: € 200.000
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Funded by the National Collaboration Programme of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), managed by ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts)
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Implemented by
Documentation
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Summary report of the kick-off stakeholder workshop on 12 December 2024 [pdf]
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