From Markus Brauer
A mosquito sucks blood from your skin. The first wild bird with a West Nile infection was discovered in Germany in 2020. The West Nile virus is a pathogen originating in Africa that is also spread to Europe by migratory birds. The virus is mainly transmitted between wild birds by mosquitoes. Photo: Andreas Lander / dpa
According to researchers, mosquitoes are becoming more and more dangerous. Not only the exotic species that have immigrated can transmit pathogens. Domestic mosquitoes are now spreading the West Nile virus, which originated in Africa.
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Müncheberg / Berlin – Mosquitoes are increasingly becoming a danger to people, as they can transmit dangerous pathogens through their bites. This applies to both native mosquitoes and the exotic species that have immigrated, says Doreen Werner, biologist at Leibniz Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (Zalf) in Müncheberg (Brandenburg, Märkisch-Oderland).
Scientists from the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) have already identified local mosquitoes as carriers of the West Nile virus, which originated in Africa. This virus is mainly found in birds and, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), also reached Europe through them. In southern Europe it has been transmitted to humans in the summer for many years.
Here you come to Germany’s mosquito atlas.
For the first time in 2019, the RKI registered five human infections with the pathogen in Germany, confirms RKI epidemiologist Christina Frank. “Last year, 20 cases of the West Nile fever reported, including one death. As in 2019, Saxony, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt were affected. “
Firmly established in Germany also the Asian tiger mosquito, the Asian bush mosquito and the Aedes koreicus, also known as the Korean bush mosquito, says biologist Werner. “The actually exotic species that tropical pathogens like Zika, Chikungunya or Dengue viruses Yellow fever Malaria can no longer be exterminated and spread over the federal territory. “
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Only a few serious disease courses
Apart from the annoying and sometimes painful bites, Werner worries that local mosquitoes are apparently increasingly transmitting dangerous pathogens. “If we didn’t have a corona pandemic, we would talk more about the increase in West Nile fever cases,” she states.
The number of unreported cases could be much higher. Because the virus, which, according to the RKI, was introduced by migratory birds, sometimes shows no symptoms at all or not clear symptoms in humans. These could range from mild nausea and headaches to fever and neurological damage, explains Werner. Only about one in 100 infected people would develop a serious clinical picture, she says. Older people in particular are affected by this.
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According to the two scientists, there is no preventive medicinal protection against mosquitoes and the pathogens they transmit. Frank recommends safety nets in front of the windows and the application of insect repellent, especially to older people who are more at risk.
“Rain barrels filled with water should be covered and bird baths or flower vases emptied at least once a week,” recommends Werner. However, one or two plots of land with optimal conditions for mosquitoes were enough to contaminate an entire region, the mosquito expert makes clear.
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