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Tiger mosquito: a call for vigilance launched in Loire-Atlantique

In Loire-Atlantique, the presence of the tiger mosquito has been reported. (©Pixabay)

Arrived in France in 2004, Aedes albopictus – the tiger mosquito – is, on May 1, 2020, installed in 58 departments whose Loire Atlantique.

Good that “Weakly colonized”, the department was classified for the first time in red vigilance.

Also read: Return of the tiger mosquito: ANSES asks you to report its presence

According to Ministry of Health, this means that it is present in at least one commune and in less than 40% of the communes in the department.

Particularly resistant and adapted to the human environment, the tiger mosquito thrives in peri-urban environments as well as in very dense urban areas.

“Last year, it was spotted in two municipalities: Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire and Le Pellerin,” says Mélanie Layec, communications officer atARS Pays de la Loire. But what does this dreaded insect look like?

Identify the insect

The tiger mosquito is very small. It is indeed smaller than a penny, less than 5 millimeters.

It is striped white and black, with the characteristic presence of a white line along its thorax. It has a biting device, a long appendage in front of the head.

This species, aggressive towards humans, bites during the day, mainly at dawn and at dusk, most often outdoors.

A vector of diseases

Every year, the anti-Aedes albopictus and surveillance for arboviruses (viral mosquito-borne diseases) is activated in May.

Native to Asia, it is the vector of diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya, the yellow fever where the zika. Even if the risk is much lower in temperate regions, the risk of transmission of this disease is not zero.

Be vigilant on water points

To prevent their development, everyone must maintain their vigilance on stagnant water points around homes. The natural breeding grounds for this mosquito are the hollows of trees.

Its adaptation to artificial lodgings, such as saucers, planters, water reserves and especially tires, has considerably increased its capacity to colonize the metropolitan territory.

Since 1999, imported used tire sites have been subject to special surveillance in France.

Also read: Tiger mosquito: Vendée in red vigilance

The most effective and radical way to protect oneself from its nuisances is therefore to physically remove these lodgings.

It is important to avoid the proliferation of mosquitoes at home by fighting against standing water that can become spawning grounds: remove objects serving as containers, empty saucers and vases once a week, check that the water flows properly. rain and gutters.

The ARS Pays de la Loire website recommends removing dead leaves and covering water supplies.

A reporting application and portal

Before these skills are transferred toRegional health agency, the Atlantic Interdepartmental Mosquito Control EID launched a “I Mosquito” Smartphone application to signal the presence of the insect from a photo.

LHealth Security Agency (ANSES) has set up a reporting portal, to find by clicking here.

the Vigilance mosquitoes website puts a map online which updates the presence of the tiger mosquito.
The Mosquito Vigilance website has posted a map which updates the presence of the tiger mosquito. (© Vigilance mosquitoes)

On its site, a questionnaire helps with identification. To be able to report the presence of a tiger mosquito to health authorities, you must have a photo or a mosquito in a state allowing its identification.

All reports received are then analyzed by the entomologist of the vector control operator designated by the ARS.

And, in the case of a positive report of a tiger mosquito, a investigation field work is carried out to verify the effective implantation of the mosquito, measure its density, disseminate information to residents on the actions to be taken to limit the proliferation and if necessary organize insecticide treatment.

Contacted, the Pays de la Loire regional health agency indicates that the mosquito traps posed by the health authority have not yet identified the presence of the mosquito in the department.

But we are only at the beginning of the summer, so vigilance is required.

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