The Aedes aegypti mosquito, vector of the Zika virus, reappeared in Chile, 60 years after being eradicated. An alert system is in place.
The mosquito was eradicated in the early 1960s Aedes aegypti made a remarkable comeback in Chile. While the American continent is facing a real epidemic of the zika virus, this culicidae, transmitter of the disease, had not reappeared for more than 50 years in this country, preserved by its natural borders which are: the Atacama desert , to the north, and the Andes mountain range, to the east. The mosquito is also a transmitter of dengue fever and chikungunya,
Chilean Health Minister Carmen Castillo said Monday that Chilean scientists had identified a specimen in Arica, a port city 2,000 km north of the capital Santiago.
“This is a Aedes aegypti, which means that we must take more precautions, ”the minister told Agence France Presse (AFP). She also announced the deployment of a warning system in the north of the country to try to identify the presence of other specimens.
Canada, the only survivor of America
Until now, Chile was, along with Canada, the only country on the American continent to be preserved from theAedes aegypti, a virus that causes microcephaly – insufficient development of the skull and brain – in fetuses.
The country had however confirmed, last March, a first case of transmission of Zika by sexual route while a dozen people had been infected outside the country.
As a reminder, the disease strikes mainly South America, in particular Brazil where more than 1.5 million cases of Zika have been counted since the start of the epidemic last year. There, thousands of suspected cases of microcephaly are currently being investigated. Fortunately, in most cases, Zika only causes mild symptoms that may go unnoticed.
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