Does Zika arrive in metropolitan France? A person returning from Martinique was diagnosed positive for this virus in the town of Mas d’Agenais, in Lot-et-Garonne, according to information revealed by the prefecture and by the regional health agency. This is a case imported from the West Indies, since this person was not infected in mainland France.
Risk of contamination by the tiger mosquito
The Interdepartmental Agreement for Mosquito Control of the Mediterranean Coast (EID Méditerranée) conducted an investigation around the home of this person and discovered the presence of tiger mosquitoes, vectors of Zika virus. The departmental tiger mosquito management unit therefore proposed a mosquito control operation. Indeed, if a tiger mosquito of type Aedes albopictus stung the person infected with Zika, he too could have been infected. It will then risk transmitting the virus to the next people it bites. The Lot-et-Garonne prefecture has also set up the information website albopictus47.org to remind the inhabitants of the department of the best practices to adopt to limit the risk of contamination. This site advises in particular to evacuate all stagnant water (in saucers, flower pots, gutters, garden games …) to eliminate the breeding grounds of the insect.
France among the “moderate risk” countries
Last May, the World Health Organization (WHO) recalled thata Zika virus outbreak in Europe was not unlikely, especially with the approach of summer, the season of activity of the tiger mosquito. The WHO has thus classified metropolitan France among the countries with “moderate risk of local transmission of Zika virusThe best way to protect yourself against Zika virus today is to guard against mosquito bites for example by using repellents, mosquito nets and by wearing light and covering clothes.
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