The Ministry of Health, through the General Directorate of Public Health, has once again activated the protocol provided for in the Entomological Surveillance System of the islands after detecting an adult specimen of the species Aedes albopictus in one of the traps installed in the airport terminal Tenerife South.
This is the first detection of mosquitoes invaders associated with airport traffic in the archipelago, as reported in a Health note, and due to the capture area of the specimen, this specific detection seems to be linked to the transit of passenger suitcases coming from risk areas where the vector is established.
After confirmation through genomic sequencing of the specimen, this Friday morning, the Entomological Surveillance Committee of the Canary Islands has determined, following the protocol, the actions to be carried out by both the General Directorate of Public Health and the University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health from the University of La Laguna, as well as from AENA and the Granadilla de Abona City Council, the municipality where the airport is located.
It is worth remembering that last September the first detection of adult specimens and larvae of Aedes albopictus occurred in the Canary Islands, in the Tenerife municipality of Tacoronte and later in a residential area in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where after the activation of the surveillance system and the control and fumigation work has been going on for seven weeks without any findings of this species.
The Aedes albopictus is a black mosquito with stripes, smaller than those common in our territory, which appears more in urban environments and has adapted to reproduce in small water points generated by man.
It is a vector for the transmission of viral diseases in other geographical areas where these pathologies are endemic, which does not happen in the Canary Islands.
Aedes usually bites during the day and not at night and its bite generates a strong inflammatory reaction that is accompanied by great stinging. It moves nimbly near the ground and does not produce any hum. The females are the ones that bite, since they need to feed on blood to reproduce.
“It is important to note that no bites have been reported and that the presence of the mosquito does not imply the transmission of diseases such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever or chikungunya, since these are not present in our territory, except in cases sporadic imported ones”, concludes Health.
