Paris sprays neighborhoods in search of tiger mosquitoes

Early Thursday morning, roads were closed in southeastern Paris and residents were told to stay indoors. In the region, a person contracted dengue fever after returning from a trip, prompting the authorities to take a unique action. For the first time, trees, green areas and other places where mosquitoes thrive and breed have been widely sprayed. The goal is to eradicate the tiger mosquito, which can carry the Zika and dengue viruses.

If a mosquito bites a person sick with dengue, it becomes a carrier of the infection and can spread it further.

– It was the first time in Paris, but not the first time in France. The deputy mayor of Paris, Annie Soiris, says that the south of France has been affected by tiger mosquitoes for several years. Watchman.

You want to limit the spread

According to the Paris Health Authority, an area of ​​150 meters was sprayed around the residence of the injured person in the thirteenth arrondissement.

“The operations are being carried out to reduce the risk of the spread of dengue fever,” the authority wrote in a statement.

Another spraying was carried out on Friday night in the suburb of Colombes, northeast of Paris, after a second person who had returned from a trip contracted dengue fever.

Climate change favors mosquitoes

Tiger mosquitoes, whose natural habitat is in Southeast Asia, became a more common sight in southern Europe in the early 2000s. It soon found its way north and established itself in Germany, France and Switzerland. Climate change is believed to have given tiger mosquitoes better conditions. The warmer climate shortens the incubation period for the eggs and the winters are no longer cold enough to kill them.

Mosquitoes were first found in France in 2004, and are now found in 71 out of 96 regions on the mainland. In August, the first ever tiger mosquito case was reported in Sweden, when two tourists returning home discovered the eggs hatching on plants they had brought home from Spain.

Read also: Scary tiger mosquito discovered in Sweden

Read also: Animals whose numbers are increasing – because of man