The Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of the Universidade NOVA of Lisbon (IHMT NOVA) warned this Wednesday of the possibility of a greater concentration of mosquitoes in the districts of Faro and Lisbon, particularly invasive species that transmit diseases.
The alert arises from data from mosquitoWEB, a “citizen science” project that is based on the participation of people to identify the presence of mosquitoes. mosquitoes that transmit dengue and yellow fever in regions of the country.
The results of the project show “an increase in mosquitoes in the districts of Faro and Lisbon, specifically the invasive species Aedes albopictus (tiger mosquito),” IHMT NOVA explained in a statement.
“These data suggest that, in fact, there may be a higher concentration of mosquitoes in these areas and are in line with the alert recently issued by the Parish Council of São Domingos de Benfica (Lisbon) regarding the risk of spread of the dengue virus. transmitted by the Aedes albopictus mosquito, present in these two districts,” he also highlighted.
The data from this platform points to “a high presence of mosquitoes in urban areas with conditions conducive to their proliferation, such as gardens, patios and other places with containers of stagnant water.”
Teresa Novo, entomologist at IHMT NOVA and operational manager of the mosquitoWEB platform, highlighted that “the scientific evidence obtained through mosquitoWEB reinforces the need for greater public awareness to reduce the risk of spread of mosquitoes, vectors of pathogens in the country.”
“Community participation is essential to protect collective health,” he also stressed, according to the statement.
Anyone can participate in the mosquitoWEB project, through the platform’s website: simply photograph a mosquito, upload the image to the platform, provide information about the place where it was found and include contact information (mobile phone or email). for monitoring.
Among the recommendations for the population, IHMT NOVA highlighted the elimination of stagnant water and the use of repellent.
According to WHO data, more than 7.6 million cases of dengue fever were reported to the organization worldwide this year, including 3.4 million confirmed cases.
Although there has been a substantial increase in dengue cases globally over the past five years, this growth has been most pronounced in the Americas region, where the number of cases has already exceeded seven million by the end of April 2024, exceeding 4.6 million. starting in 2023.
Many people infected with the virus that causes dengue may be asymptomatic, but symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, pain around or behind the eyes, vomiting, red spots on the skin, and bleeding.
Source: Observadora
