Thanks to the heat waves, it is proliferating in France. Last year, it was present in half of the departments in metropolitan France. The tiger mosquito, an exotic insect, come from Southeast Asia, settles more and more towards the north of the country, to the point that it is defined as a “major health risk” by a commission of inquiry of the National Assembly which met on the subject. The French are more and more aware of the problem, because the mosquito is now present in large cities.
Small, silent, striped and who lives at night
In Montrouge, on the outskirts of Paris, Wilfried counts the insect bites on the skin of his eighteen-month-old daughter Emma. With his partner Solène, they know the culprit. “We see them immediately, they are scratched”, they explain at the microphone of Europe 1. These mosquitoes also have the particularity of living at night, of being silent and of having a fairly small size. Five times smaller than its French cousin, the tiger mosquito measures less than 2 mm. To be able to follow the evolution of their propagation on the territory, the National Health Security Agency calls to report their presence.
#Mosquito tiger – Established in nearly sixty departments in 2020, the tiger mosquito can transmit diseases to humans.
Take part in monitoring its spread by reporting its presence!https://t.co/ry73JLsIuZpic.twitter.com/1CYiPdmV2R
– Anses (@Anses_fr) June 20, 2020
Up to 250 euros for insecticides
So in their small apartment in Montrouge, Wilfried installed many sophisticated devices supposed to hunt insects: ultrasound, ultraviolet … which are not necessarily very effective. “I easily exceeded the 250 euros in that”, laments Wilfried. Because the tiger mosquito is very resistant to insecticides.
Above all, it can pose significant health problems, warns Stéphane Gayet, infectious disease doctor at Strasbourg University Hospital. “This mosquito is feared because of the viruses it can transmit, such as chikungunya, dengue and zika”, he explains at the microphone of Europe 1.
But the doctor reassures: cases are rare in France for the moment. If in doubt, in the event of a bite, it is necessary to disinfect well, concludes Stéphane Gayet, and to go see a doctor if symptoms appear.
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