2023-07-10 14:03:07
3600 species of mosquitoes listed: how by studying them in their diversity, fight in a targeted way against the most harmful, vector of parasites and taking into account their essential role in the balance of ecosystems?
Present on earth for 270 million years (well before the appearance of hominids), mosquitoes have colonized the entire planet. With a predilection all the same for the tropics where the greatest number of species are found (most of which are not harmful and play an essential role in the balance of ecosystems). Except that a minority of mosquitoes, the Aedes, are vectors of formidable pathogens. It is the intensification of our human activities, to which is added global warming, which are responsible for their free movement and therefore the spread in all latitudes of pathogenic agents of malaria, dengue or Nile fever. also the emergence of new epidemics such as Chikiungunya and Zika?
How can we effectively combat these scourges? How could we regulate the populations of nasty mosquitoes to let the others (the majority) play their role in the ecosystems, even at the cost of a few bites? Will it be possible to live with mosquitoes?
With Sylvie Lecollinet veterinarian and virologist at CIRAD she works on zoonoses and in particular those transmitted by mosquito and tick vectors
Didier Fontenille medical entomologist, IRD research director, it develops research and expertise activities on the vectorial transmission of malaria and arboviruses.
for the work The mosquito, public enemy number 1? published by Editions Quae
#live #mosquitoes