The ULS of Cova da Beira states that it was detected in the municipality of Covilhã, district of Castelo Branco, the presence of the mosquito Aedes albopictus (commonly known as mosquito tiger), “species capable of transmitting diseases such as dengue, zika, chikungunya, among others”.
The Local Health Unit (ULS) of Cova da Beira warned for the presence in the municipality of Covilhã do Mosquito that transmits diseases such as dengue and appealed to the population to adopt measures to avoid spread.
In a note published on the Facebook social network, ULS of Cova da Beira states that it was detected in the municipality of Covilhã, Castelo Branco district, the presence of the mosquito Aedes albopictus (commonly known as mosquito tiger), “species with the capacity to transmit diseases such as dengue, zika, chikungunya, among others”.
Alert to the population
Given the presence of this mosquito in the region, the ULS of Cova da Beira has appealed to the population to take measures to reduce mosquito creation places, namely, to eliminate or come to the contrary dishes of pots, buckets, bottles or other containers that accumulate water.
It also asks the population to cover water deposits (wells, tanks, cisterns), exchange water from drinking fountains and animals at least once a week and keep pools treated or properly covered.
The ULS of Cova da Beira also leaves an appeal to taking personal protective measures for mosquito bites that pass mainly by the use of repellents with Deet, Picaridine, IR3535 or eucalyptus-lemon oil (OLE), wearing long clothes (sleeves and pants) especially when dawn and dusk and use of mosquitoes in windows and doors.
ULS also emphasizes that in case of diagnosis of mosquito -transmitted disease (dengue, zika, chikungunya, yellow fever or other) it is mandatory to notify the National Epidemiological Surveillance System (Sinave).
DGS had issued a recommendation to the municipalities
In July 2024, the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) recommended municipalities, tourist projects and agricultural, industrial sector, among others, the adoption of mosquito prevention and control measures that transmits Zika and dengue.
In a guidance published on its page, DGS maintained that, in the face of detection of the invasive species Aedes albopictus in different parishes and municipalities of mainland Portugal, it is important to reinforce the mechanisms of prevention and control aiming at reducing abundance or elimination of this mosquito species.
According to the DGS, the most recent detections of the invading mosquito in Portugal had been recorded in the municipalities of Cascais and Pombal and correspond to risk level 1 (yellow), on a scale of 0 to 3, defined according to the different scenarios in relation to the presence of Aedes mosquitoes and detection of cases of disease, as defined in the National Plan for Prevention and Control of Vector Diseases.
The presence of Aedes invading mosquitoes in Portugal began with the detection of Aedes aegypti in Madeira in 2005. The species Aedes albopictus was introduced on the continent in 2017 in the north (Penafiel), 2018 in the Algarve (Loulé) and 2022 in Alentejo (Mértola).
