The buzz about Mosquitoes this summer

Aedes mosquito is having a blood meal. Copyright James Gathany

Although the region has never experienced an epidemic such as the one in Tamil Nadu, India in June 2006 when 20,000 cases were reported, there have been tourists affected in the PACA region and fears of an outbreak are on the rise.

Yesterday, French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand did little to quell anxiety on an official visit to the Côte d’Azur to investigate the possibility of an influx of Aedes mosquitoes to the area this summer.

He met with officials from the prefecture and the Ville de Nice to discuss what measures should be taken in an attempt to prevent the mosquitoes from breeding.

The best way to curb the Aedes population, according to the EID (a part of the Conseil Général des Alpes Maritimes in charge of mosquito treatment), is to eliminate places where the female mosquito can lay her eggs, for example artificial containers that hold water in and around the home.

In urban areas, Aedes breed in various objects, from plastic cups to used tires, broken bottles to flower pots.

In a small villa garden in Nice, a team of specialist from EID showed Bertrand a simple procedure for eliminating eggs, strategically placing a biological anti-mosquito product in areas of the house's interior and exterior where mosquitoes tend to breed.

The product will only be used in places where there have been a high number of reports of Aedes present and it is assured that no other garden insects will be affected by its use.

To be fully prepared should the worst happen and an epidemic hits, the French health Minister launched a two-day trail yesterday, which has so far included doing a test run of a dengue fever and chikungunya outbreak at the CHU hospital in Nice.

Bertrand considered how quickly the medical unit in the teaching hospital responded and made proposals for ways in which this could be improved.

It was concluded by one of the teachers in the hospital, professor Dellamonica, that the Archet medical unit needed more space, staffs and computer software to fully cope with a dengue fever epidemic.

For now, though, this scenario is a last resort, and the advice is to simply avoid leaving stagnant water around the house to prevent such a situation occurring.

AA