ARCHIVED - Tiger mosquito invades nine out of 10 Alicante towns
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Only eight municipalities in Alicante province have so far been spared the presence of the invasive species
The first Asian tiger mosquito was detected in the Valencia region in 2006, and 15 years later, the species is already present in 80% of the Community's municipalities, and nine out of 10 towns in Alicante province.
In fact, according to the latest data published by the Regional Ministry of Health following regular checks carried out by the Entomology and Pest Control Laboratory of the University of Valencia, in less than two years, the species has entered 123 new localities and is already present in 458 of the region's 542 municipalities.
By province, the tiger mosquito is most prevalent in Alicante, where "the species is practically everywhere".
Of the 141 municipalities, the invasive species is present in 132, which is almost 94% of the entire province. The only exceptions are Biar, Millena, Benillup, Facheca, Benifallim, Penáguila, Benifato and Guadalest.
In Valencia province, the insect has been detected 90% of the towns – 240 of the 266 municipalities – and only inland areas are free of the pesky insect, "because it is more difficult for the tiger mosquito to establish itself due to the cold, since they prefer a tropical climate," according to the pest control laboratory.
Castellón is the least affected province, with 86 of the 135 towns blighted by the pest with a painful bite.
In 2019, according to data from the UV Entomology Laboratory, the insect was present in 62% of the Valencia region, a figure which has leapt to 84% in 2021.
Javier Lucientes, professor of parasitology at the University of Zaragoza and coordinator of the government's surveillance programme for imported vectors, explained that the main transmission factor, and the one responsible for the continued invasion of tiger mosquitos, is roads.
"We have seen how the mosquito has been transmitted through vehicles. In Aragón, for example, a lot of detection points are at petrol stations, because the mosquito moves as a co-pilot with people."
He added that the first species recorded in Valencia in 2006 is believed to have been transported in the car of family from Barcelona who had travelled to their second home in Torrevieja. The family contacted the authorities after spotting a "huge mosquito" at the holiday villa, a species which, at that time, was growing in numbers in Catalonia.
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