A surge in mosquitoes is primarily due to invasive species – including Asian tiger mosquitoes – as the number of native Hungarian mosquito species has dropped to a minimum because of low water levels in lakes and rivers and the drought, the National Directorate General for Disaster Management (OKF) said in a statement on Monday.
Asian tiger mosquitoes transmitting dangeours viruses
Suitable habitats for native mosquitoes have been reduced to a few marshy areas and oxbow lakes.
In Békés County, experts are using aerial biological methods to control them, while in southern Pest County, they are using ground-based biological technology, MTI wrote. However, ground spraying has become necessary in Budapest’s 3rd, 4th and 3rd districts as well as in parts of Lake Balaton settlements, due to the presence of tiger mosquitoes, the statement said. Asian tiger mosquitoes potentially transmit viruses such as dengue and chikungunya.
The spread of invasive species active in heat and during the day, such as the tiger mosquito, has become nationwide in suburban areas. The larvae of these species develop en masse in stagnant water around homes, such as flowerpot saucers, clogged gutters, or animal drinking troughs, even after watering.
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African swine fever virus detected at another farm in Hungary
The African swine fever (ASF) virus has been detected at a hog farm in Somogy County, in the southwest of the country, food safety authority Nebih said on Monday. Protection and surveillance zones have been established around the farm in Lakocsa and some 1,850 hogs are being destroyed. The ASF virus was detected for the first time in Hungary’s stock of commercial hogs in June, at a farm in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, in the northeast.
Mosquitoes in Hungary may spread extremely dangerous tropical diseases
