2023-04-26 04:15:01
Tiger mosquito season is declared. With it, the hunt for this pest led by the Regional Health Agency. Prevention, awareness, surveillance: the means will be put in place at the beginning of May 2023 to stem this scourge, which is increasingly important due to global warming.
Hérault coast, Gard hinterland, Garonne towns, Pyrenean mountains… The tiger mosquito is everywhere. This pest is installed in the 13 departments of Occitanie. A presence that the Regional Health Agency and local elected officials take very seriously.
44% of the inhabitants of the region are concerned by the presence of the insect and 90% by the risk of it becoming established. Because if the mosquito is urban at the start, it does not ultimately spare other territories.
The tiger mosquito proliferates especially in cities. The resistant species adapts particularly well to the human environment and to urban density. However, it also settles in more unexpected areas, such as the mountains of the Hautes-Pyrénées.
We thought we were spared but we had cases of dengue fever last year. We must break this myth and raise awareness: the tiger mosquito also circulates here
Manon Mordelet, director of ARS Hautes-Pyrénées
A circulation that is not indifferent to climate change. Isabelle Esteve-Moussion, engineer at ARS Occitanie, explains: “With the heat, the mosquito will go upstairs whereas three years ago, we thought it was going to stop at 1000 meters in height. The area to be treated extends. Also, the internal cycles go faster: 3 weeks normally to go from larva to mosquito, 3 days with high heat.
It’s the size of a dime, it’s striped, flies low, and mostly attacks in the late morning. The culprit is all found, we have a suspect: the tiger mosquito. Once identified, it is still necessary to be able to hunt it.
Déborah Galy, environmental animator at the Association for Resources and Development of Environmental Activities and Professions (ARDAM)explains how to do it:Stagnant water is conducive to the development of mosquitoes: gutters, water dishes for animals, flower pots… To act on breeding sites, they must be emptied every seven days. Another possibility is the silt or the installation of hermetic nets on the water collection tanks.”
His association intervenes in schools to raise awareness at an early age on the issues of the proliferation of this species.
After locating, identifying and hunting it, a bite is not without risk. It remains to fight against the transmission of viruses. Through its bites, the insect can convey tropical pathologies: dengue fever, zika, chikungunya. Didier Jaffre, director of ARS Occitanie confirms: “The mosquito has the ability to transmit serious diseases to humans, so it is a public health priority. Our objective is to limit any epidemic risk and avoid a chain of transmission of these diseases.“
From May 1, the ARS deploys its action in three parts: monitoring the mosquito population, raising public awareness and organizing medical surveillance.
A mandatory reporting scheme concerns 36 tropical diseases, including those transmitted by mosquitoes. They are monitored all year round and this results in action when the insect is active, between May and November.
Isabelle Esteve-Moussion, vector control engineer ARS Occitanie
In 2022, 56 cases of illness were declared in Occitania. Local actors and companies are working hand in hand to stem the proliferation of this pest. Innovative techniques are even being tested in the Hérault, such as the dispersion of sterile mosquitoes.
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