Alerted, the services of Brussels Environment and Sciensano intervened directly. “No adult tiger mosquitoes were subsequently observed during a control visit and all containers containing stagnant water were treated with a larvicide to prevent the larvae from developing into adults.” reassures Vivalis, the regional administration in charge of health.
“No reason to worry”
The Institute of Tropical Medicine (IMT) also visited the site where tiger mosquitoes were spotted. “Both the IMT inspection and the control visit revealed that the spread of the tiger mosquito found by the citizen was limited to the residential building in which the rapporteur’s residence is located and all the nesting sites in the building were treated and controlled” Vivalis further specifies. Who insists: “There is no reason to worry.”
Contrary to what Sciensano announces in its communication, this is not a first in Brussels territory. A tiger mosquito had already been reported on a site in Schaerbeek in 2023. These two reports did not cause any diseases transmitted by these mosquitoes. We are thinking here of dengue fever, the Zika virus and Chikungunya. The people affected by these diseases in Belgium – several dozen per year – all contracted one of these infections while they were travelling abroad and returned to Belgium already infected.
In Belgium since 2000
In the case of June 26, Vivalis distributed documentation to the residents of the residence and provided some advice to avoid stagnant water, an ideal breeding ground for the tiger mosquito. On its website, Vivalis provides many tips to prevent tiger mosquito bites, to prevent its proliferation as well.
The regional administration further explains that “The tiger mosquito was first observed in Belgium in 2000, having entered via the importation of used tires. Since 2013, the tiger mosquito has been found in our country almost every year, introduced via the trade in used tires or lucky bamboos. Since 2018, the importation of the tiger mosquito into Belgium by cars or trucks from neighboring countries has also been noted. Despite these repeated observations, the tiger mosquito has, so far, not managed to establish itself in our country.”
According to Sciensano, in four of the six new locations, the insects were spotted in the first three months of the season, while the peak of reports usually occurs in August and September.
If you see or think you see a tiger mosquito, the first thing to do is to notify Sciensano via the surveillancemoustiques.be platform.
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