Following the report on the citizen science platform www.surveillancemoustiques.be an individual thought to be a tiger mosquito, entomologists from IMT and epidemiologists from Sciensano traveled to Maasmechelen for a site inspection. No tiger mosquitoes were found there, but the Asian forest mosquito (Aedes japonicus), another kind of exotic mosquito, was found.
He had already been spotted in the past in Belgium, but never again there, and had on the other hand already been found before on the other side of the Meuse, in the Netherlands. “It is not a dangerous mosquito. In the laboratory it can transmit certain viruses, but it has never been implicated in the appearance of a disease”, indicated Wim Van Bortel of the Institute of Tropical Medicine.
Monitoring exotic mosquitoes is crucial to detect their presence in time, insist IMTet Sciensano. If researchers notice their presence early enough, early control can be implemented by the competent authorities in order to delay the establishment of these mosquitoes in Belgium.
“If exotic mosquitoes, such as the tiger mosquito, take hold in our country, local transmission could occur if a person infected with dengue virus, zika virus or chikungunya virus returns from vacation and is bitten by this mosquito in Belgium”, explain the two institutes.
Anyone who thinks they have spotted a tiger mosquito can take a photo of it and upload it to the website www.surveillancemoustiques.be. Already more than 200 people have contributed to the monitoring of exotic mosquitoes via this citizen science platform.
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