Health: in Marseille, bait to capture tiger mosquitoes on the Olympic site
Three months before the Olympic Games, how to prevent the tiger mosquito from spoiling the party ? The insect, which is now spreading throughout France, carries diseases such as the dengue. 45 indigenous cases of this disease, transmitted by the tiger mosquito, were recorded last year in France according to Santé Publique France.
Almost 1 700 cases have also been imported into mainland France since January 1 according to the Directorate General of Health. So to protect athletes and spectators during the Olympics, the city of Marseille has installed traps on the site of the Olympic marina, where the sailing events will take place.
These traps are slipped inside large perforated metal boxes. 15 traps in total, spread over an area of one hectare. “The traps are protected in boxes to avoid any risk of vandalism or accident. They operate on solar panels and inside we have the trap connected to a CO2 bottle. These are traps which will reproduce odors of the human body to attract the mosquito and capture it”details Antoine Cohen, technical manager for Biogents, the company which won the call for tenders from Marseille town hall to protect the Olympic marina.
“Naturally our body gives off many odors: lactic acid, caproic… Some of these acids will be traced by the mosquito to find lactic acid in particular, like an odorous trail that we leave behind us”specifies the expert. So there is no insecticide in these traps, only odors.
By capturing tiger mosquitoes, the town hall hopes to limit the risk of disease transmission while the Olympics will attract visitors from all over the world. The tiger mosquito could bite an already sick visitor, then contaminate several others by carrying chikungunya, zika or even dengue fever.
- For more: Elrisala website and for social networking, you can follow us on Facebook
- Source of information and images “svoboda“
