As the “season” of the tiger mosquito begins, the insect will be subject to increased surveillance by the French health authorities to try to stop its establishment on the territory.
- The health authorities are on alert in the face of the problem of tiger mosquitoes, the main period of activity of which extends from May 1 to November 30.
- The tiger mosquito is a vector of viruses such as dengue, chikungunya or Zika.
- By triggering their period of enhanced surveillance, the authorities aim to scrutinize the evolution of the mosquito and to fight against its proliferation.
Multiplying awareness messages and triggering possible mosquito control operations… this is the program planned by the health authorities to fight against tiger mosquitoes, as their main period of activity begins from May 1st.
Fight against the tiger mosquito: concrete actions
To prevent the proliferation of the tiger mosquito, actions are being taken at the national level, indicates theHandles.
The so-called monitoringentomological“ makes it possible to detect the arrival of the insect and to follow its extension on the territory. This vector control (LAV) aims to reduce or interrupt the proliferation of pathogen-carrying mosquitoes. The operation is based on the elimination of breeding sites and adult mosquitoes in order to reduce the risk of spreading the viruses and diseases they carry (dengue fever, zika, etc.).
To facilitate the work of the health authorities, the public is invited to indicate the presence of the flying animal on the site. signalement-moustique.fr.
“When a report comes from an area hitherto not colonized by the mosquito, the validation of the report can lead to supplementing the observations of the active entomological monitoring system, by installing nesting traps in this new area.“, details theHandles.
The tiger mosquito has colonized a large part of France
I”aedes albopictus”, recognizable thanks to its black and white stripes, silent and which stings during the day, is particularly scrutinized because it is a real scourge. Its presence has spread inexorably over the territory over the years. In fact, since 2010, the number of metropolitan departments colonized by the tiger mosquito has multiplied by ten, according to AFP. As of January 1, 2023, the tiger mosquito is present in 71 metropolitan departments.
And beyond the discomfort it causes with its bites, it is above all a vector of several tropical diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya and zika.
Tiger mosquitoes: towards an increase in viral diseases?
These viral diseases “could become public health problems” In France says Marie-Claire Paty, vector-borne disease surveillance coordinator at Public Health France.
“If, in mainland France, no serious form has been observed to date, complications are always possible, which can lead to resuscitation or even death.”, recalls the expert.
The tiger mosquito was thus the cause of 65 “indigenous cases” dengue, concentrated in the south of France. “We speak of an autochthonous case when a person has not traveled in the 15 days preceding his clinical signs and is contaminated from a local mosquito, which had itself become infected by biting a viraemic person, returning travel to endemic areas“, explain Public Health France.
“65 cases, it may not seem like much, but it testifies to a dynamic, it is a signal for the future“, warns Marie-Claire Paty.
