Aedes aegypti can transmit three diseases: Zika, dengue and chikungunya
Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine warns of a concentration of mosquitoes that spread the virus. If you live in Lisbon or Faro, avoid “still waters”.
The Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMT) warns of a more noticeable presence of the “invasive species Aedes albopictus”, reports . The Institute asks the population to be careful and collaborate to reduce the transmission of the virus.
“These data suggest that there may, in fact, be a greater increase in these areas and are in line with the alert recently issued by the Board of Parish of São Domingos de Benfica (Lisbon) about the risk of spreading the dengue virus, transmitted by the mosquito, present in these two districts”, highlighted the IHMT, in a statement to which Lusa had access.
Data from this platform points to “high presence of mosquitoes in urban areas with cconditions conducive to its proliferation, such as gardens, backyards and other places with containers with maintenance of still water”.
Teresa Novo, entomologist at IHMT NOVA and operational responsible for the platform, highlighted that “the scientific evidence obtained through mosquitoWEB reinforces the need for a greater awareness among the population to reduce the risk of spreading mosquitoes, vectors of pathogens in the country”.
“Community participation is essential to protect collective health”, he also stressed, according to the press release.
Anyone can participate in the mosquitoWEB project, through site’ from the platform: just photograph a mosquitoupload the image to the platform, provide information about the location where it was found and include contact details (cell phone or email) for follow-up.
Among the recommendations for the population, IHMT NOVA highlighted the elimination of standing water and the use of repellent.
According to WHO data, more than 7.6 million cases of dengue were reported to the organization this year worldwide, including 3.4 million confirmed.
Although there was a registered substantial increase in dengue cases globally In the last five years, this growth has been most pronounced in the Americas region, where the number of cases has already exceeded seven million by the end of April 2024, surpassing the 4.6 million in 2023.
Many of those infected by the virus that causes dengue can be asymptomaticbut the symptoms of the disease are fever, headachemuscle and joint pain, pain around or behind the eyes, vomiting, red spots on the skin and bleeding.
According to Expresso, it is recommended that the population “eliminate standing water, check and eliminate containers with accumulated water, both at home and in surrounding spaces, and use repellent and other physical barriers, such as mosquito nets, to prevent bites.”
