Mosquitos spreading Tropical diseases to swarm Hungary?

Invasive species that spread tropical diseases are already present in Hungary. Gábor Kemenesi, a researcher from the University of Pécs, said that Hungary has to do everything to stop their reproduction. The biologist said that, unlike in the case of Covid-19, these mosquitos give an advantage for humanity to prepare for viruses and diseases such as Zika or chikungunya.

According to portfolio.hu, Mr Kemenesi said that in many parts of Hungary, invasive species are already present. A good example is Barcs (Croatian-Hungarian border), where there are many tiger mosquitos, and the situation is the same in some districts of Budapest. That is because they can reproduce even around the houses in the current weather conditions. 

The Asian tiger mosquito, the Korean mosquito, and a Japanese species are already in Hungary, he added. Mr Kemenesi stated that

climate change paves the way for these exotic mosquitos.

Global changes might bring species to Europe that can start a Zika or Dengue-fever epidemic on the continent.

In Italy, the chikungunya fever already occurred, and though an epidemic did not break out, the country got a taste of what one would be like. This disease is not fatal but causes pain and fever and can result in lasting health damage.

Therefore, the state has to do everything to reduce the number of exotic mosquitos in Hungary to avoid the breakout of an epidemic. In Brasil, nobody thought mosquitos could be dangerous, and then the Zika virus swept through the country, he reminded everyone.

These tropical mosquitos can reproduce even near houses in Hungary

if there are pots, canals, wheelbarrows, tyres where water remains intact and provides an excellent ground for multiplication. They are unbearable since they are active all day, not only in the evening.

The University of Pécs already launched its mosquito monitor program,

and everybody can help put an invasive species on the map of Hungary. If somebody is not sure what they saw, they can send a photo to the experts. Furthermore, the Mosquito Alert app is already downloadable in Hungarian.

Mr Kemenesi said that

the citizens have to be warned

how they can protect themselves against these new mosquitos. For example, if we put a net on barrels, pots, and wheelbarrows around the house, we can avoid mosquito bites.

Chemical protection is useless and harms the ecosystem, he said. Instead, we should use biological reduction since we know where these mosquitos hatch. Though some people were saying that mosquitos can spread even COVID-19 or HIV, that is not possible. However, they can distribute many tropical diseases that are unknown in Hungary.

We reported in August 2020 that

more and more tiger mosquitos hatch in Hungary.

That is because the weather in the country is very favourable for them since they hide in the gardens of family houses, and half a decilitre of water is already enough for dozens of them to hatch. Therefore, experts asked for the help of the people to be able to deal with the problem.

• • More and more tiger mosquitos hatch in Hungary

Source: portfolio.hu, DNH