Tiger mosquitoes are back. If the Covid-19 currently affects a large part of its territory, other reasons to be vigilant remain. And this mosquito is sometimes a vector of serious diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, dengue, or even chikungunya.
A large part of France concerned
As Vigilance-Moustiques reports on its site, six new departments are now appearing, for this year, in red alert, bringing this total to 57 departments where the insect is established and active.
On a map accompanying this list, France seems to be divided into two parts, one to the south, where almost all the departments are concerned, and the other, to the north, where surveillance remains predominantly entomological. On the other hand, the two Alsatian departments as well as the whole of Ile-de-France are concerned by red vigilance.
Ten departments remain on their side in orange vigilance, which means that occasional interceptions of tiger mosquitoes in the last five years have taken place. However, a sign of the gravity of the situation, Vigilance-Moustiques observes “that the departments which are in orange vigilance sooner or later pass into red vigilance.”
Avoid standing water
In order to guard against tiger mosquitoes, Gilles Besnard, entomologist at the EID of Rhône-Alpes, explained in 2018 to BFMTV that several techniques exist.
As a first step, you should avoid leaving any standing water near your home.
“It is enough to leave a few houses in a neighborhood with many cans or buckets with water to infest the whole neighborhood,” he warned.
In order to avoid bites, installing mosquito nets, ensuring ventilation to keep insects away, applying a repellant to the skin, or even using traps seem to be effective methods.
Prevent reproduction
In order to prevent the spread of the tiger mosquito and its diseases, science has studied the subject. Last year, researchers developed an effective process to almost eliminate these insects during a study on two test sites in China, by combining two techniques to control this mosquito.
Researchers have both irradiated female mosquitoes to sterilize them and infected males with bacteria that prevent them from reproducing with uninfected females, they explain in the review. Nature.
This experience represents “an important advance and demonstrates the potential of this new tool,” said Peter Armbruster, professor of biology at Georgetown University (United States), in a commentary on the study.
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