Public Health and the University of Zaragoza fight Anopheles mosquitoes in Binéfar

Public health experts from the Government of Aragon and the University of Zaragoza have established mosquito trap and disease controlespecially malaria.

Binefar is one of five sites selected by the Department of Health and the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Zaragoza to carry out the Pilot plan for disease surveillance and control are transmitted by vectors.

The head of the Food Safety and Environmental Health Service, Antonio Español, and the director of the Department of Urban Pest Research and Public Health, Ignacio de Blas, presented this morning in the assembly hall of the City Council of Binéfar, technicians and managers of the health, agriculture, environment and local police sectors, the Plan for the prevention, surveillance and control of vector-borne diseases in Aragon.

From this meeting, this pilot plan began in Binefar, the only city in the province of Huesca where development will take placeThe other locations are Zaragoza, Utebo, Alcañiz and a municipality to be determined in the Albarracín mountain range.

The traps installed today in Binefar will be used to combat Anopheles mosquitoes, which can transmit malariaUntil October, every fifteen days, samples collected from the traps will be sent to laboratories at the University of Zaragoza for analysis.

The choice of Binefar and the analysis of malaria transmission is due to the presence of many “workers who come from areas where malaria is endemic and may return infected from their places of origin when they visit them. Mosquitoes are common throughout Aragon. It’s about risk analysis. And if cases do occur, since they are quickly diagnosed, recommend isolating the victims to avoid mosquito bites that could transmit the disease to other people, and also notify health centers so that they monitor possible cases more closely,” he explained. Antonio Español.

Rapid Response Plan

The meeting also discussed the issue of creating a rapid response plan in the event of a case of malaria being detected among the population.

The mayor of Binefar, Patricia Rivera, stressed the importance of launching this pilot project: “We are very lucky to be the only municipality in the province of Huesca that is hosting a project like this and doing everything to help healthcare find its way The positive results for the development of science are very satisfactory“.

These pilot plans represent an important expansion of the surveillance carried out from 2016 to date, focusing on the tiger mosquito -Aedes albopictus-, which has made it possible to verify the presence and establishment of this invasive mosquito in the Autonomous Community.

New prevention plan

The Aragon Plan for the Prevention, Surveillance and Control of Transmissible Diseases, which is currently in preparation, represents an expansion of the surveillance developed so far by the Ministry of Health and the University of Zaragoza. The objective is reduce the risk of transmission and minimize overall impact these new diseases from the point of view of “One Health”.

The main goal of surveillance of these diseases is detect his presence in advancein order to establish the necessary measures to avoid the occurrence of secondary cases and autochthonous outbreaks, especially in areas where the competent vector is present, and to report active transmission of the virus at the site of infection.

To this end, constant communication will be maintained between the surveillance departments, the security system and the zoonoses department so that actions can be effective.

The Directorate General of Public Health has clarified the procedure for dealing with people with transmissible diseases. First of all, there is a suspicion of a disease that requires that physicians be trained and informed in advance about transmissible diseasesmainly based on clinical and epidemiological criteria.

To that end, the new plan will establish a priority scheme for disseminating information to health centres in affected areas in the event of local cases or cases that health authorities consider at risk.

After this, it is necessary to notify about the disease, conduct an epidemiological investigation and determine whether it is an imported or local case, formulate recommendations and measures for its treatment and prevention of new cases, investigate the origin and prevent local transmission through entomological research. Also The risk of transmission of zoonotic pathogens to host animals will be assessed.

Transmissible diseases

Vector-borne diseases such as leishmaniasis, dengue fever, malaria, West Nile fever and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever constitute the group of diseases that are growing the most worldwide.

There are numerous vectors capable of transmitting these diseases, They are present and widespread throughout most of the geography of Spain.: mosquitoes of the genera Culex, Aedes and Anopheles; ticks of the family Ixodidae (mainly the species Hyalomma Marginatum, Hyalomma lusitanicum, Ixodes ricinus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus) and Argasidae (Ornithodoros sp.); and sandflies (Phlebotomus spp.).

The World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) call for a “whole-of-health approach” that addresses the interrelationships between human health, animal health and the wider environment, including ecosystems.

Factors that can contribute to the spread of vector-borne diseases are, in essence, increased travel and international tradewhich will facilitate the introduction of pathogens (viruses, bacteria and parasites) and invasive species that can act as vectors or reservoirs; climate change, especially increased temperature and rainfall, which can facilitate the development of vectors; and socio-demographic and environmental changes that can increase the geographic areas suitable for vectors and reservoirs and the opportunities for human contact with them.

Performances

The Aragon Plan for Surveillance and Control of Vector-borne Diseases will include actions such as the preliminary identification of areas and periods of greatest risk for the transmission of vector-borne diseases, the implementation of pilot entomological surveillance plans in selected areas, and the provision of technical advice and response to health alerts related to vector-borne diseases affecting human and animal health.

Except, It is proposed to conduct educational campaigns The vector control programme is aimed at both health workers and technical personnel of environmental services of government agencies, as well as educational centres and citizens’ associations, with the aim of raising awareness of the growing importance of disease vectors and raising public awareness of the need to actively cooperate in control plans.