A new
invasion of mosquitoes
appeared this weekend in squares and parks in the City and the GBA.
In some places it was felt more than in others.
On social networks there were several comments from people who complained and showed their concern about the risk of contracting Dengue, since the epidemic is felt in neighboring
Brazil and Peru.
"Just as you cleaned the streets 2 weeks after flooding us. I warn you that we have an invasion of mosquitoes AGAIN in CABA! I don't know Vicente López, your district, but today in Barracas at 8 you can't walk," wrote one de user Twitter referring to the head of the Buenos Aires Government.
There were areas in the Province where mosquitoes completely dominated the green spaces.
In La Plata
, this weekend, neighbors complained about the amount on 8th Street between 33 and 34, in the areas surrounding the Spanish Hospital.
According to them, the insects appear in large numbers and the neighbors
fear catching dengue fever.
"Here in Parque Centenario people are clapping their arms and legs, it is full of mosquitoes. They are the smallest, the same ones as in December," said Margarita, who went for a walk in the Caballito green space this Sunday morning.
The scenario was similar in Parque Rivadavia and other Buenos Aires squares, in which the neighbors were surprised by the attack of the insects.
Olavarría, further away from the Capital, was another area taken over by mosquitoes this weekend.
“As always, the presence is due to climatic conditions that favor its development.
Factors such as increased temperature,
abundant rain and humidity
are the perfect conditions for the development of all species,” explained Jesica López, veterinary director of the Municipality's Bromatology area.
There is a shortage of repellents in pharmacies.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden
The official added that the species that is being seen the most is
Psorophora ciliata.
“It is a mosquito that breeds in flooded environments after rain,” she said.
And in this way she gave peace of mind to the neighbors by separating this spice from the dangerous
Aedes Aegypti,
the vector agent of dengue and yellow fever.
The last invasion was at the end of the year and during the month of January.
At that time, the Buenos Aires Ministry of Public Space and Urban Hygiene reinforced the
disinfestation of 29 parks, squares and green spaces
due to the proliferation of mosquitoes in the City of Buenos Aires.
And the recommendations are similar now, although also the fact that
it is not the mosquito that transmits dengue.
The fear of mosquitoes and the possibility of contracting dengue fever caused the purchase of repellents to skyrocket.
That, in turn, accelerated the shortage of this protector in pharmacies.
In addition to
considerable increases in prices
.
At the beginning of December, the aerosol repellent was around $1,550 and since January it has ranged between $4,000 and $8,000 in some pharmacies, kiosks and supermarkets.
Likewise, on sites like MercadoLibre, users found it from $7,000 to $15,000, the most expensive.
In some stores they are not available.
They are also missing in supermarket chains.
Although in other, cheaper ones, those from lesser-known brands can still be found for $1,500.
"They deliver
a pack of twelve and fly out in a few hours,
although they are around $5,000 and you can get them cheaper elsewhere,"
the employee of a pharmacy from a well-known chain told
Clarín .
The motives
Two CONICET specialists, Sylvia Fischer and María Victoria Micieli, explain the reasons for the phenomenon that is occurring these days and highlight the main prevention measures and control strategies to deal with these insects.
After January, there was a new mosquito invasion.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden
Micieli - Center for Parasitological and Vector Studies - affirms that this latest invasion corresponds to "flood"
mosquitoes .
This is what happened at the end of December and beginning of January. The new rains (which were very abundant) have flooded new sites and "The larvae that hatched there (approximately 7 to 10 days ago) generated this new invasion of
Aedes albifasciatus
. "
On the other hand, Fischer - Institute of Ecology, Genetics and Evolution of Buenos Aires - confirms that “the species we are having now, which generate this peak of abundance and annoyance in people, are species of 'flood mosquitoes'.
We call them that because their larvae
develop in temporary puddles or bodies of water that are flooded by rain
. ”
And he adds that the species of this type of mosquito, which is now circulating in greater abundance, as a result of the rains, is Aedes albifasciatus, a mosquito that has
a very wide distribution in Argentina, from Tierra del Fuego to the north of the country.
The doctor in biology and ecology specialist points out that the females of these mosquitoes have the behavior of laying their eggs in the humid substrate that is subsequently flooded.
"So, in these places, due to the previous drought we had, a large number of eggs had accumulated and when it started to rain continuously due to the El Niño weather phenomenon in the last month, month and a half, these eggs all hatched synchronously. , the larvae develop simultaneously and
huge numbers of adults emerge, all at the same time.
And this generates precisely this peak of abundance that we are perceiving so strongly.”
Fear of Dengue
From
last June
to January of this year, 43 confirmed and probable cases of dengue were recorded in the City.
It is counted "from epidemiological week 27, beginning in June 2023 to date. The cases correspond to 14 of the 15 communes of the City", according to data from the Buenos Aires health portfolio.
Dengue is a disease caused by a virus, which in our country is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito: Aedes aegypti.
It is a dark colored mosquito with black and white striped legs.
The female mosquito becomes infected after feeding on blood from a person who has the virus in their body (whether or not they may have symptoms of the disease) and thus, after a few days the mosquito can transmit the virus to other people.
Symptoms usually include: fever (lasting less than 7 days);
rash (exanthema) that causes itching;
general discomfort;
headache (headache);
retroocular, muscle or joint pain;
intense fatigue;
nausea and vomiting.
Some cases of dengue can evolve into severe forms that will require hospitalization for adequate management of complications.
S.C.