the eradication of the tiger mosquito, a challenge in one of the main sources of dengue fever in France

In Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, in Vaucluse, mosquito specialists are on a war footing. They are preparing their fourth mosquito control operation in just 15 days. Their operation starts in the middle of the night. Vehicles spray insecticide to kill mosquitoes carrying dengue fever, a tropical disease for which the town is the second largest cluster in France this summer, with 17 cases detected.

Agents treat less accessible areas, such as gardens, and work at night to prevent residents from breathing the toxic product during the day. “It’s not a choice we make, it’s the only solution”explains Grégory Lambert, medical entomologist at EID Méditerranée. “We are facing a real health crisis”he assures.

The tiger mosquito transmits dengue fever by biting, from one sick person to another, who is in turn infected. “I was very sick, I thought I was going to die”testifies Jean-Pascal, who fell ill in the Gard without having traveled abroad.