Mosquitoes until mid-January, they disturb a large part of the residents of the Region of Crete, as the increased temperatures favor their reproduction, showing the adaptability of mosquitoes to the conditions of climate change, as reported to APE-MPE by deputy director at the Directorate of Public Health of the Region of Crete, Dr. Antonis Papadakis. While the mosquito control programs are completed every year at the end of October, this year the increased temperatures, as a result of the climate crisis, continue to concern the Directorate, which continues, as Mr. Papadakis said, the recording of mosquito populations, species them, but also the pathogens they carry.

“Unfortunately, we are experiencing the effects of the climate crisis. Due to the very high temperatures for the season, we still have a lot of mosquitoes but also complaints from citizens that they are bitten both during the day and at night,” said Mr. Papadakis, who added that until around the middle of January, there is still heavy use of insect repellants, which is a result of temperatures exceeding 15 degrees, “since to be able to say that there is no reproduction, temperatures must be below 10 degrees Celsius”.

As Mr. Papadakis pointed out, as a Region, Crete participated in the European Conference on the fight against mosquitoes, highlighted by the regional governor Stavros Arnautakis, to be the transfer and implementation on the island of all the good practices that are implemented and related to mosquitoes and their treatment. “In this light, I think that Crete as a region is one of the first to implement the program of recording mosquito populations, the species we have, if they carry pathogens, etc. Also, in the midst of this program, even January if they continue the high temperatures and if necessary, we will also proceed with combating” stressed the deputy director of Public Health of the Region of Crete, who however stated that importance has been given to the Egyptian “Tiger” mosquito, which as he pointed out “we don’t want to see it at all in Crete”. As Mr. Papadakis said, this is about a “space-conquering” mosquito, which if it comes and we don’t detect it immediately, it will remain, just as the Asian “Tiger” mosquito remained, which has caused many problems.” For this reason, as Mr. Papadakis pointed out, the traps remain at the entrance gates of the island, the ports and the airports, so that if the entry of this mosquito is noticed on the island, “an alarm will be raised so that it does not let it remain.”

As also mentioned by Mr. Director of Public Health Dr. Antonis Papadakis for the first time in 2024, in parallel with the ongoing three-year combat project, the Region will implement the following additional actions: The innovative program to monitor mosquito activity in the winter months due to the climate crisis entitled “Population Monitoring Actions of mosquito species during the winter season by collecting entomological data using suitable CO 2 -light mosquito traps’. In addition, actions will be implemented to monitor the population of alien invasive species using special BG – GAT (Gravid Aedes Trap) traps at the main entrance gates of the Region (with an emphasis on Aedes aegypti in order to prevent its establishment), as well as epidemiological risk assessment actions possible domestic transmission of malaria by collecting demographic or other critical data in areas where land workers live and work, as well as evaluation actions at the local level of the productivity of the anthropogenic sewage network, by collecting qualitative data concerning the management of anthropogenic foci of mosquito breeding in the urban system (with an emphasis on recording septic tanks).

“With the implementation of all these actions, the Region of Crete aims to strengthen the multiple barriers to disease transmission from mosquitoes at the same time assuring multiple benefits related, among other things, to strengthening the protection of Public Health through the better mapping and evaluation of the epidemiological risk (virus West Nile, Malaria, Dengue fever, etc.), the evaluation of the nuisance throughout the year, but also the study of the fluctuation of the thriving populations of invasive mosquitoes” pointed out Mr. Papadakis, adding that the results of the informative events organized by the Region to raise awareness and inform residents about the mosquito control project over the last two years in Heraklion, Crete. In fact, as he pointed out, in 2024 four individual information events will be held in the capitals of all four Regional Units, while he announced that an information day will be held regarding the epidemiological risk and the ways to deal with it in Crete and more broadly in Greece.

After all, from 01/04/2024 the application for smartphones will be launched, as every year from 2020 onwards “Mosquito Vision” for the prediction of evening and nighttime disturbances for all the settlements of the Region of Crete and monitoring of this information by the citizens from their mobile phones. Also, through this application the user can send information about a new outbreak of mosquitoes in order for the services to intervene immediately with the aim of informing the officials of the Directorate of Public Health of the Region as well as other involved officials and representatives of the Municipalities from Crete and the rest of the country .