"Fighting mosquitoes of the Asian forest in Flevopolder meaningless"

Years of attempts to keep the Asian Forest Mosquito ( Aedes japonicus ) under control in Lelystad have not prevented the animal from going ahead. The RIVM and the Dutch Food and Consumer Safety Authority (NVWA) conclude Tuesday that the mosquito is so widespread in the Flevopolder "that control is no longer effective".

The Asian forest mosquito can theoretically transmit infectious diseases, but an RIVM analysis shows that the risk of disease transmission by the Asian forest mosquito in the Netherlands is very low. On the basis of this finding, the authorities now conclude that the costs of control are no longer proportionate to the effect.

According to the RIVM and the NVWA, it is advisable to fight the forest mosquito outside the Flevopolder because the mosquito has not spread there yet. This opinion on the Asian forest mosquito of Flevopolder also has no consequences on the fight against invasive alien mosquitoes in the Netherlands, such as the tiger mosquito and the yellow fever mosquito. They will always be fought.

See also: NRC verifies: "This is not the question either, but when the tiger mosquito settles in the Netherlands"

The government worries of the presence of invasive alien mosquitoes, as it can be caused by diseases such as dengue fever. The forest mosquito was reported for the first time at Lelystad in 2012. The RIVM then advised to control the mosquito with control measures. Measures to completely eradicate the mosquito would be too cumbersome.

According to RIVM research, it has been proven that the mosquito can transmit diseases to the laboratory. However, the chance that the exotics that succeeds outside the lab is extremely small. In any case, mosquito-borne diseases are currently not present in the Netherlands, according to the RIVM.