Normally in this season, no more nocturnal awakenings because of their annoying little buzzes. Yet in the subway train, I see a mosquito quietly resting on my neighbor. Verification made on the mosquito vigilance map which measures their presence in the territory, 17 departments are still classified in the orange zone, that is to say in the area of bite and possible proliferation. The rest of the territory is always in yellow, an area favorable to their multiplication.
Mosquitoes can survive the six months of winter because they go dormant or remain as larvae and wait for the mildness and humidity of the following spring. But entomologists can see that they are coming out and biting more and more later in the year. As 2020 is well on its way to being ranked among the hottest, scientists are still collecting reports in December. Especially in cities where mosquitoes find heat and stagnant water, such as in the metro, perfect for laying their eggs: around a hundred each time and 15 days later a new generation sets out again to hunt. This is why we can still be bitten in the month of December in town by a mosquito, finally by a mosquito. It is only the females who bite us to take in our blood the protein necessary to make their eggs.
On the mosquito vigilance map, the season for tigers is well over. This year, it was reported in 58 departments. More than half of the metropolitan territory is affected by this species which came from South-East Asia in the early 2000s. The UN has classified it among the 10 most invasive species on the planet, since it widespread in a hundred countries. Unlike local species, the tiger mosquito bites during the day and prefers human blood to that of other mammals for food. It can also transmit diseases such as dengue, chikungunya or zika but it must have bitten someone sick before transmitting any of these viruses to you.
Santé Publique France has just made its annual report: there were 834 cases of dengue imported by passengers who came from areas at risk and 13 people developed the disease locally, mainly in the South-East of France.
