Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

HEALTH

MAP: Tiger mosquitoes reach northern France

Tiger mosquitoes, which carry a range of potentially deadly diseases, have now been detected in northern France including Normandy, which had previously been spared.

Published: 21 March 2024 11:41 CET
MAP: Tiger mosquitoes reach northern France
A tiger mosquito bites a person in the French riviera city of Nice, on August 10, 2023. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)

The Normandy Regional Health Agency announced that they had detected tiger mosquitoes – which can carry deadly diseases such as dengue fever, zika and chikungunya – in the region, according to a memo published on Tuesday.

As a result, every French region now has tiger mosquitoes present. Previously, Normandy was the only region to not have detected the insect’s presence.

Originally from Asia, the mosquitoes have been detected in Europe for several decades and have been gradually moving north through France, aided by the changing climate and warmer weather.

The health authorities specified in the memo that “at this time, no local transmission of any mosquito-related diseases have been found in Normandy.”

The Normandy Regional Health Agency specified that they had observed tiger mosquitoes in the Seine-Maritime département, which means that the insect is present in 71 of France’s 95 mainland départements, as seen in the map below (blue: present; white; not yet detected)

Tiger mosquito populations have been growing steadily in France for the last two decades, in part thanks to rising temperatures due to the climate crisis.

Experts have previously said they think that France will be fully colonised by 2030.

Manual widget for ML (class="ml-manual-widget-container")

In even worse news, it seems that mosquito traps and repellents being tested by local authorities are not very effective.

Sleeping under a mosquito net will protect you at night, but unlike European mosquitoes, tiger mosquitoes come out during the day as well as at night.

The best advice that experts can offer is to make sure there is no standing water near your home, as this is where mosquitoes breed.

Researchers are currently looking into other methods of control such as sterilising female mosquitoes.

Although dengue fever, zika and chikungunya can prove fatal, they are rarely so with good medical treatment.

What do tiger mosquitoes look like?

They are very small, about 5 mm, and they have a 'highly contrasting colour, with black and white stripes on their body and legs.

Credit: Agence regionale santé normandie

If you believe you have spotted a tiger mosquito, you can report it to public health authorities online.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

STRIKES

Pharmacists in France to strike at the end of May

Unions representing French pharmacists have called for walkouts at the end of May in protest over drug shortages, wages and the sale of medication on the internet.

Published: 10 May 2024 09:41 CEST
Pharmacists in France to strike at the end of May

The primary union, the union for community pharmacists (Union des syndicats de pharmaciens d’officine, or USPO) has called for on-call pharmacists to walk out during the Pentecost long-weekend (May 18th to 20th), and for all pharmacies across France to close on Thursday, May 30th.

On-call pharmacists (pharmacie de garde) are those working on Sundays and bank holidays (like Pentecost), as most other pharmacies close on these dates.

While it is still not clear how many pharmacists will walk out, the call for strikes is nationwide and it may be best to plan to pick up any important medicine ahead of time.

Why the strike?

Drug shortages are a large part of the problem because they reportedly force pharmacists to spend more of their working hours doing drug research to be able to offer alternatives to patients. 

Pierre-Olivier Variot, the head of the union for community pharmacists, told Franceinfo that this has led to an extra 12 hours of research time for the average pharmacy.

“These are 12 hours during which we cannot take care of patients. We’re also dealing with tired patients who are frustrated we do not have their treatment,” he said.

Variot also explained that wages have not kept up with inflation, and as a result some pharmacies have had to close. 

Unions are also calling for the French government to better regulate the sale of medication on the internet, in order to ensure quality and safety standards.

Why the shortage of medicines?

The issue has been longstanding, and the situation was made worse during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The French Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) reported that, in 2023, it had 4,925 medicines either out of stock or at risk of being out of stock, an increase of 30.9 percent in medicine shortages compared to 2022.

You can find the list of medications in short supply here.

A spokesperson from ANSM told Le Point in February that there are several things causing the problem, with many of them taking place on a global level.

“There are challenges with the manufacture of raw materials and finished products, as well as qualify defects in the drugs, insufficient production capacity, and division within the manufacturing stages,” the ANSM said.

On top of that, many factories dealing with raw materials are located outside of Europe.

SHOW COMMENTS