Four questions on mosquito control and surveillance following the detection of indigenous cases of dengue fever in the Alpes-Maritimes

Three cases of indigenous dengue fever in the commune of Vallauris have been detected by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Health Agency (ARS) and Public Health France.

At the beginning of September, cases of dengue fever were revealed in Monaco.

As soon as this case of dengue fever in a Monegasque worker was known, the government decided to launch a vast treatment campaign over two nights, located on the Rock. The patient is from Menton, where a mosquito control operation also took place. This was the second confirmed case in the Alpes-Maritimes since last May. Three new cases of indigenous dengue fever have just been discovered in the commune of Vallauris.

To prevent the spread of the disease, mosquito control operations carried out by the Interdepartmental Agreement for the Control of Mosquitoes on the Mediterranean Coast (EID-Med) are underway in the municipality, on public roads and in private gardens.

What objectives?

The goal: to eliminate breeding sites and eliminate potentially infected adult mosquitoes to prevent them from biting other people in the neighborhood.
This mosquito control action was supplemented by information provided to the population by the ARS Paca and Public Health France in the area concerned in order to identify people who might present symptoms, to inform them on the conduct to adopt and to disseminate prevention messages.
Finally, hospitals, private doctors, community pharmacies and medical analysis laboratories in the sector are also mobilized to care for and screen people who may have symptoms of dengue fever and report them to the ARS Paca.

What is dengue fever?

Dengue is a generally benign disease although temporarily disabling. We speak of an indigenous case when a person has contracted the disease in metropolitan France and has not traveled to a contaminated area in the 15 days preceding the onset of symptoms. As a reminder, in metropolitan France, dengue is transmitted through the bite of the tiger mosquito when it is infected with the dengue virus.

What risk?

Metropolitan France is exposed to “u“a fairly high risk” of epidemics linked to the tiger mosquito in the next five years, estimates the National Agency for Food Safety (ANSES), in a press release published on Friday, September 13.

Anses warns of the risks of saturation of the fight or of tension in the health system.

“We speak of an epidemic from the moment when it is not possible to link all infected people to a focus. This means that transmissions escape the control system”said Emeline Barrès, one of the two coordinators of the expertise, quoted in the press release.

How to protect yourself?

It is advisable to:

• Use a skin repellent, especially in the morning and at the end of the day, on the areas
  of exposed skin;
• Wear loose, covering clothing;
• Using air conditioners or fans which disturb mosquitoes;
• Use crib nets for newborns.

You should also consult your doctor immediately if you experience any suggestive symptoms: high fever, muscle or joint pain, eye pain, fatigue, headaches.

• To prevent the proliferation of mosquitoes, you must limit the development of mosquitoes around your home by following simple and effective actions to be carried out once a week:
• Empty plant pots and anything that retains small amounts of water (children’s toys, garden furniture, tarpaulins, etc.);
• Store anything that can hold water (buckets, watering cans) away from the rain;
• Seal or cover water reserves (barrels, cans, untreated swimming pools) with mosquito nets.