It is spreading through Europe – and soon it may come here. Now the hunt for the dreaded cemetery mosquito is intensifying in the southern part of the country.
– If they are here, I want to find them!
Anders Lindström, mosquito researcher at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute (SVA), takes out black plastic cups and a row of wooden spatulas from the trunk. The mugs are to be filled with smelly grass water, and then put out in the Norra hamnen in Malmö.
– These are the areas they come to first with trucks, like the port for example.
Spreads in northern Europe
It is the middle of June and the traps with plastic cups, in which it is hoped mosquitoes will lay eggs, are set out in several areas in both Trelleborg, Helsingborg and Malmö. The municipalities help set out and control the traps. The hunt for the cemetery mosquito is part of a project that runs until the end of the summer, says Anders Lindström.
– We have received money from SMHI to investigate the possibility of starting some kind of monitoring program for invasive mosquitoes, he says and continues:
– We have seen in recent decades how these mosquitoes have spread. Now they are in northern Europe, in Germany.
Among other things, the cemetery mosquito, which can be a carrier of West Nile fever, has been targeted. It is often spread by transport.
– It is not even a day’s drive between northern Germany and Malmö.
West Nile fever is an infectious disease spread by the virus of the same name. Patients usually show no symptoms, but in some cases the disease leads to encephalitis or meningitis, which can be fatal.
The virus can be fatal to humans.
The virus can be fatal to humans. Photo: US Department of Health
Laying eggs in vases
The foul-smelling water, which the grass has been left to soak in, is poured into the mugs. Then they are placed in thickets around the harbour. Ecologist Mats Wirén from the city of Malmö marks with pink where the mugs are.
– When the question came up about biting mosquitoes, it is interesting to see if we can help.
West Nile is spread by mosquitoes and mainly affects birds. But what should the municipality do if the mosquitoes that could potentially carry viruses come here?
– If they come here, they will stay. But you might be able to limit the spread, says Mats Wirén.
In Europe, the cemetery mosquito has often been found in burial vases in cemeteries. It lays its eggs in the flower vases on the graves and the larvae develop. It reproduces in small bodies of water and in a city like Malmö it would probably have found its way to residential areas and farming areas, reasoned Anders Lindström.
– The fact is that it is an aggressive mosquito, which lives inside residential areas. You get bitten.