When the tiger mosquito is present on the territory, certain diseases are the subject of particular attention, this is particularly the case of zika, dengue fever and chikungunya. The department of Corrèze, where Aedes albopictus has been present since 2017, has recently experienced this.
In 2021, one case of dengue was imported. In 2022, four people also passed through the department during the period of viremia, that is to say the moment when the virus is present in the blood. Again, these were cases of dengue fever. Each report of these diseases has generated a reaction from the regional health agency (ARS).
Two mosquito control campaigns in 2022
At the end of August 2022, a vector control operation was carried out in the two neighboring municipalities of Brive and Malemort, both affected by the establishment of the tiger mosquito. These operations follow a specific protocol. “We first check where the infected person has stayed and transited, and check if the tiger mosquito is present there. If this is the case, we carry out a mosquito control operation. This consists of killing the adult mosquitoes which transmit the disease, not the eggs. You should know that these insects proliferate within a radius of 150 to 200 meters. It is therefore a very localized treatment, “explains Mathilde Rasselet, sanitary engineering engineer at the ARS in Corrèze.
Tiger mosquito: the city of Brive is banking on prevention, but does not rule out more repressive measures in the future
An exceptional preventive treatment
This exceptional preventive treatment, which aims to avoid a chain of local transmission of these diseases, takes place at times when the inhabitants are generally confined. “This is not a comfort operation, otherwise you would have to come back every seven days. Three days after the spraying, the mosquitoes come back. That’s why we insist on the behavior of fellow citizens, encouraging people to work on the breeding sites”, explains Mathilde Rasselet of the ARS.
For several years in Corrèze, the tiger mosquito has been gaining ground. Its presence was confirmed in 17 municipalities in 2022 compared to 11 the previous year. The city of Tulle has integrated this list. 40% of the Corrèze population is now affected by the problem, which hides an unpleasant fatality: “When the tiger mosquito settles in, it never leaves”. In other words, we have not finished scratching.
Pierre Vignaud
