Arboviruses. Nothing to do with arboriculture or deforestation. This unusual word refers to infections from insects that pump blood like the tick or the tiger mosquito and are transmitted to vertebrates. For several weeks, with rising temperatures, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) in Occitania has been trying to raise awareness among the population of the risks associated with the tiger mosquito present in 88% of homes in the region.
This winged insect, which arrived in Gard and Hérault since 2011, can cause infections with the four dengue viruses, chikungunya or even the Zika virus. Contaminations rarely fatal, at least for healthy carriers. « These diseases are not endemic in mainland France. Travelers who most often go to tropical countries and who are bitten by mosquito vectors can then bring them back to France »explains Maëlle Dampfhoffer, sanitary engineer and manager within the health-environment service center of the ARS in the Gard.
If these travelers are bitten by a tiger mosquito located in France, the latter might then spread the infections to other inhabitants who have not left France. « For people who leave the country, it is necessary to use means of protection such as wearing loose and light-colored clothing, sleeping under a mosquito net, with air conditioning or using repellents. Before returning, you must be vigilant regarding your state of health. If you have a fever, aches or headaches, you must notify your doctor and mention your destination to possibly do a biological analysis. »underlines the head of the ARS.
The objective for the institution, once the discovery of a case contaminated by one of the viruses, is to go up the chain of transmission of the disease thanks to an entomological investigation and the « cut » to avoid excessive spread. In the event of the presence of mosquitoes around the premises occupied by a sick person, the ARS calls on a private operator, Altopictus in Occitanie, with the aim of carrying out a « insecticide mosquito control operation ».
Reinforced surveillance until November
This situation of « imported cases » from a tropical zone arrives every year according to Maëlle Dampfhoffer: « It’s quite rare that there are autochthonous cases or secondary cases like that, but it still happens », notes the engineer. Last year, in the Hérault, an indigenous case of a person who remained in France was thus contaminated. In 2020, two people were in the same situation in the Gard.
The two departments are less affected than those of the Paca region such as the Var or the Alpes-Maritimes. Occitania should remain in the enhanced surveillance phase until November 30.
Many documents and explanations are available on the ARS website.
“If you have a fever, aches or headaches, you should tell your doctor”