Longer, more intense and more dangerous. This is how the National Association of Environmental Health Companies (ANECPLA) defines the summers that climate change is causing in Spain. The Association warns that the mosquito season is becoming longer and with increasing activity, which significantly increases the risk of transmission of diseases.
"The biological cycle of mosquitoes has been altered. The warmer and longer temperatures have extended their breeding period and also their geographical expansion, with particular incidence on the Mediterranean coast, but increasingly in inland areas," explains Jorge Galván, ANECPLA's director general.
The Association recalls that in recent years tropical diiseases have been detected in Spain which could have been spread by mosquitoes.
We are not just talking about discomfort or bites: the health risk is increasingly evident," Galván stresses. "The spread of species such as the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) or the common mosquito (Culex pipiens), potential transmitters of serious diseases, is a phenomenon that requires an urgent and coordinated response.
The role of the public and the need to act proactively
ANECPLA insists on the need to adopt a management strategy based on prevention, combining the necessary collaboration between Public Administrations and private Environmental Health companies, with public awareness. A large number of mosquito breeding sites are located in private areas, which is why public collaboration is essential.
Among the basic recommendations to avoid their proliferation, the Association highlights:
1. Empty flowerpot dishes frequently.
2. Renew and cover the water in children's swimming pools.
3. Keep drains and gutters clean.
4. Frequently change the water in animal drinking troughs.
5. Cover or remove any containers that accumulate water.