Buenos Aires: the causes of the mosquito invasion and how many days it will last

The chain of intermittent rains, added to high temperatures and the humidity typical of that time, led to a new invasion of mosquitoes in the city of Buenos Aires and its surroundings. The greater presence of the insect began to be seen in the last hours and raised concerns in society.

“The most important thing is that there is no case of dengue today in the city of Buenos Aires, neither indigenous nor imported,” he told LA NACION, Julián Antman, Operational Director of the Under-Secretariat for Health Planning of the Ministry of Health of the City of Buenos Aires.

Antman added: “The second, this mosquito invasion is one of the so-called Aedes albifasciatus, which has an average lifespan of seven days. It is a common mosquito that can be seen in greater numbers. On the other hand, the Aedes aegypti, is always present in October and May is the vector of diseases such as Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya and yellow fever ”.

“The main thing is to differentiate these two mosquitoes and the habits that each has. The Aedes aegypti it is a smaller mosquito that has black and white antennae and legs. Their habits, in general, are to bite at dawn and dusk, ”explained the manager of Buenos Aires.

To bring peace of mind, he explained: “This mosquito, the Aedes aegypti, does not appear in waves due to humidity and heat. It is the one that is always in the city of Buenos Aires between October and May. It is a domiciliary and peridomiciliary mosquito. It is not in the parks, squares or in the lakes of Palermo. They are where there are people in their houses or apartments, because it is the people who give them their breeding grounds through small containers where the hatcheries are produced ”.

“Before we say you have to get rid of.” However, in the city of Buenos Aires, in 80% of the districts, the main breeding sites are, for example, the potus in the water. It is the spa of Aedes aegypti because they are inside houses, near people to bite them, they have water and walls. There, the females of these mosquitoes lay their eggs on the walls of the small containers, ”Antman explained.

When asked how many days the invasion could last, he replied: “I can’t do futurology, but what you can say is that as long as these weather conditions persist, there are probably more mosquitoes because you are giving it water and heat everywhere. As these types of mosquitoes lay their eggs anywhere, as long as there is plenty of water and heat, there will always be a lot of mosquitoes. If mosquitoes bother you a lot, use a repellent, but that’s not a public health problem in itself ”.

Regarding the possibility of fumigation in public areas, he replied, “For any mosquito, it makes sense for the cost-benefit ratio. If you wanted to spray these mosquitoes, which is not a public health concern, you would have to spray the whole town all the time. Preventive fumigation for Aedes aegypti is also not recommended because you can only kill 10%, 20%, but if you don’t clean the hatcheries, after three days you have more mosquitoes.“.

Data to be taken into account

According to the information published on the city’s website on the issue of mosquitoes, it is specified:

How to avoid breeding sites:

More information