The General Directorate of Public Health of the Government of the Canary Islands has detected two copies of mosquito of the genre Aedes in the terminals of cruise ships from the ports of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The presence of this type of mosquitoes is subject to surveillance because they have the capacity to transmit diseases such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever or chikungunya, but only if the viruses that cause them are present in the territory, which is not the case of the Canary Islands, recalls the Ministry of Health.
Specifically, a specimen of Aedes aegypti has been found in the cruise terminal of the Santa Catalina dock, in the capital of Gran Canaria, and an adult specimen of Aedes albopictus in the cruise terminal of the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. “Following these detections in specific areas of both islands, the surveillance system protocol has been activated, with the installation of traps in the surrounding areas and the beginning of the inspection and location of possible breeding sites, among other actions,” details Health. .
Furthermore, the General Directorate of Public Health has informed the two Port Authorities, the two capital city councils and the Foreign Health Service of these findings, as a result of the actions undertaken by the Entomological Surveillance System.
The Surveillance and Public Health System team and the University Institute of Tropical Diseases of the University of La Laguna are already carrying out a first prevention action, expanding the placement of traps at different points than those established in the usual protocol. The traps are being installed in the highest risk points such as the places where they have been detected and nearby areas.
Health reminds that Aedes mosquitoes usually bite during the day and not at night and their bite generates a strong inflammatory reaction that is accompanied by great stinging. They move nimbly near the ground and no hum is heard. The female mosquitoes are the ones that bite, since they need to feed on blood to reproduce. They also need water (breeding points) to complete their development. They lay their eggs in the water, from which the larvae emerge and then transform into pupae (both aquatic) and finally become mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes that bite humans need to be breeding very close to them. That is why the most effective measure against them is to monitor or eliminate their breeding points, adds the Ministry, which asks citizens for collaboration to identify possible invasive mosquitoes and the elimination of their breeding points.
In addition, a bite surveillance program was activated in all health centers on the two islands and in pharmacies, through surveys by health professionals.
