tiger mosquito hunting

Bed bugs are no longer the insect that Paris authorities are most concerned about. The mosquitoes have taken over. And it’s for good reason: fear of a hypothetical dengue outbreak in the middle of the Olympics.

Mosquito finders. The regional health agency (ARS) of Ile-de-France, the Paris capital region, has launched an intensified campaign to prevent dengue fever ahead of the start of the Olympic Games this summer in the French capital.

They include a team of people who will install and maintain a total of 526 mosquito traps, the British newspaper reports. Telegraphwho called them “dengue detectives.”

The function of these “detectives” is to monitor the presence of the tiger mosquito, a species whose presence in Paris has increased significantly in recent years, Kevin Maignan explained to RFI and AFP. Maignan works for ARS’s Mosquito Control Agency, the agency responsible for carrying out this work.

Tiger mosquito. The target of these traps is the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), a species of mosquito native to Southeast Asia that has spread throughout the Mediterranean basin in recent years. These mosquitoes not only pose a risk of transmitting dengue fever, but can also act as carriers of yellow fever and Nile fever.

The presence of these mosquitoes spread across various departments of continental France, reaching Paris. Fumigation tasks began last September to prevent the spread of these animals, and authorities are now also using traps to prevent them from breeding. The breeding season of these insects is from May to November.

Mosquito traps. The traps consist of a bucket of water containing a small cubic piece of polystyrene in which mosquitoes can lay their eggs, and the whole thing is covered with mesh to prevent the polystyrene from leaking.

Those in charge of the traps change the polystyrene every month and take it to the laboratory to study the presence of mosquito eggs and, if so, study their numbers, Maignan explained.

How serious is the warning? While the risk of a dengue fever outbreak is a concern for authorities, it is not advisable to overestimate the risk of such a situation and its impact on public health. This week, false information circulated that French media were talking about a “panic” situation in Paris.

The possibility that the combination of summer temperatures, mosquitoes and crowds could lead to exposure to this disease exists and warrants precautions. However, this does not give rise to talk about “panic”.

More than mosquitoes. We can express this in the wide range of measures that the French and Parisian authorities are taking to ensure the smooth running of the Olympic Games. Measures that also include, for example, radical changes to the Seine River, which flows through the capital.

Paris wants its river, still polluted by various wastes, to become clean as a whistle. So much so that sporting events can be held there. This is not an easy task and has given us a lot to talk about.

In Hatak | The best way to eradicate the Zika virus may be to eradicate mosquitoes as a species.

Image | Dartwadrow / Pixabay