By PAULO SILVESTRE & CHRIS GRAEME news@algarveresident.com
A plague of mosquitoes has invaded the towns of Monte Gordo and Vila Real de Santo António in the eastern Algarve since July 20.
But it has been confirmed that the species of mosquito does not present a risk of transmission of diseases.
According to a statement from the Vila Real de Santo António Public Health Services, the species develops in brackish water, such as that found in estuaries and marshes, and does not present a health risk. However, they have been described as “a real nuisance”.
Vila Real de Santo António Câmara has contacted the Marshland Nature Reserve of Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António, and the regional water authority (ARH) in an attempt to solve the problem as soon as possible, and to create measures to avoid similar cases in the future.
Long-term prevention measures would require the creation of a drainage system in those areas as well as the use of biological larvicide before the mosquitoes hatch.
A spokesman for Vila Real de Santo António Câmara said: “The City Council is reinforcing pest control in all public spaces, especially in green areas. After this incident, the use of biological larvicide will be used more frequently to prevent the breeding of the mosquito larvae.”
Monte Gordo Campsite has also experienced an unusual infestation of mosquitoes, forcing some tourists to leave the site.
A spokesman from the campsite told the Algarve Resident this week: “These mosquitoes are not the same species as those affecting the councils of Castro Marim, Vila Real de Santo António and even Ayamonte in Spain. The mosquitoes that have been found at the campsite are salt water mosquitoes.
“I haven’t seen anything like this in the last 21 years. We have managed to neutralise the plague of mosquitoes and, fortunately, we are back to normal here,” he said.
In the meantime, Portuguese public health authorities have stepped up security measures after an outbreak of the potentially deadly Nile Fever was discovered in a patient in Lisbon on Friday.
The tropical medicine and infectious diseases institute, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), has carried out 22 batches of tests on mosquitoes in the Lisbon area as well as testing mammals and birds which also carry the virus.
As soon as the case was confirmed, the authorities immediately began an inquiry and took blood samples from the patient and immediate family. All other results were negative.
The Aedes Aegypti mosquito that can transmit the Nile Fever Virus is common in the summer months between May and October in Lisbon, the Tejo Valley, the Algarve and Madeira.
The last recorded cases of Nile Fever were in the Algarve in 2004 – the patients, both Irish tourists, made a full recovery.
Most people, around 80 per cent, will not experience any noticeable symptoms from the virus.
About one in 150 people infected with Nile Fever Virus will develop severe illness with symptoms including high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, dizziness, coma, tremors, convulsions, vision loss and paralysis. Death is rare, however.
Environmental and tropical diseases experts have been warning in recent years that tropical diseases could spread to countries like Spain, Portugal and the Mediterranean because of global warming.
The best way to avoid WNFV (West Nile Fever Virus) is to prevent mosquito bites by using insect repellent when outdoors, fitting screens to windows and sleeping under a mosquito net.
Do you have a view on this story? Please email Editor Inês Lopes at ines.lopes@theresidentgroup.com
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