Proliferation of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito

Tobi Hughes·
Madeira News

While searching about the the mosquito problem we have on the island, especially with the news in the Diário today, I found the below comment about this problem.

First let’s look at the headline in today’s Diário.

For the first time, traps installed at an altitude of up to 500 meters revealed the presence of ‘aedes aegypti’, vector of dengue and zika, both viral diseases. Insects are already present in 34 of the 40 parishes monitored. This is one of the highlights of this Wednesday’s DIÁRIO.

Me and Mosquitoes 

These mosquitoes arrived on the island around 2005/2006, first detected in Santa Luzia gardens I believe, but it wasn’t untill 2012 when we had the dengue outbreak, which paralysed tourism, and caused a lot of panic amongst locals, some of which became very sick with the disease. A mass origem was sent out to every household and on TV with ways to prevent them from spreading, and sea water was sprayed in many places to kill the eggs.

I for one get bitten all the time from mosquitoes, and I can even tell the difference in bites between Caniço area and Funchal. If I get bitten in Funchal, the bites last a lot longer, swell up more, and itch a lot more.

I put repellent on 2-3 times a day religiously, it’s a pain as I hate it, but I have not been bitten as much as many people I know. I also  use a good cream from the UK to put on bites to stop the itching, so touch wood, I have not been so bad the last couple of years, but it is a pain with the repellent all the time, and if I  forget to do it then I will get bitten.

Then I found this comment below sent to the Diário last month.

For some time now I have been thinking about publishing a letter in this section of “DN” with the intention (?) of alerting our public health authorities to the unbridled growth in the number of “Aedes Aegypti” mosquitoes, especially in the last two years. It was with pleasant surprise that I read the letter published by Mr. Pedro Teixeira in the 10/09/2023 edition on this subject. We know that once the mosquito arrives it is impossible to eradicate it completely, but we also know that if effective preventive measures are taken, the increase in the number of individuals can be controlled. And that’s what doesn’t seem to be being done in recent years. The diseases caused by these insects (dengue, yellow fever, zika fever, chikungunya, etc.) are painful and in some cases have irreversible and sometimes deadly consequences. The costs of rigorous and effective control of this pest are much lower than the costs to the public treasury of treating the diseases caused by it. In the event that, as happened in 2012, there is a dengue epidemic (the others are even worse) the consequences will be very serious not only for residents but also for those who visit us and the consequent negative effects on the economy (tourism) once the epidemic has spread. Possibly many of those who visit us will not do so when they know about the high risk of contracting a disease in a destination chosen for their vacation. In addition to the necessary field work, I think it would be very useful to carry out awareness campaigns among the population (like what was done years ago) with the aim of avoiding habits and behaviors that contribute to the spread of the plague.

Duarte Baeta

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Tobi Hughes

23 Responses

  1. Maybe we will start seeing more window screens in Madeira (business opportunity anyone?). While common in many parts of the world, we’ve always been annoyed that during our annual visits to the island, the places we stay never have screens. In parts of the world with serious mosquito borne disease issues screens are lifesavers.

  2. Mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles are only the most dangerous killers in the world because they transmit the malaria pathogen to humans with their bites. A mosquito that did not harbour the pathogen would be harmless.
    The idea being pursued by George Church at Harvard Medical School in Boston is not new. But thanks to a new genetic technique called CRISPR-Cas, the chances of success have increased dramatically. And this is how it works: In nature, paternal and maternal genes always come together in offspring. If they differ, they compete with each other, which is why most genetic manipulations disappear from nature over time. But not if the new CRISPR toolkit is supplied with the desired genetic manipulation. It is implanted into the germ cells. If a wild gene meets a manipulated gene after mating, a cut and paste programme is activated. The wild gene is destroyed. The artificial gene wins. This principle is called gene drive.
    “All you need to do is equip a single mosquito with CRISPR-Cas. The gene drive propagates and destroys unwanted genes in the entire offspring. In the case of mosquitoes, this would mean hundreds of offspring in the first generation that can no longer transmit the pathogen. And this change spreads with every sexual reproduction and affects the entire population extremely quickly.”
    How long it would take until millions or billions of mosquitoes

  3. Whenever I visit Madeira I tend to get bitten at some point. What repellent and after-bite cream do you recommend?

    1. Picaridin (called Icaridin in the EU) or DEET. Decathlon do a good Icaridin spray for a good price. Icaridin isn’t as toxic, or as sticky on your skin and it doesn’t have a smell to it. Also DEET will rot anything fabric. Don’t be sparing with it either as both types are dosage dependant so be generous. Everything else is garbage. I spent 6 months in the jungle in Belize so I became a bit of an expert lol.

    2. The best thing to use is Avon original Skin so Soft spray oil . It works. Soldiers used it in Afghanistan to ward off any bites including sand flies . It must be the original , not any other ” flavour ” .

      2. I served 3 tours in Afghanistan and can tell you this is absolute nonsense. Afghanistan didn’t even have many mosquitos at all. DEET is much more effective and is issued so therefore free.

  4. Replace ordinary globes by LED globes; they do not attract insects. – You could install UV lamps, but please without the electric shocker; birds feed on insects. – Rub normal soap on the area around the bites; stops itching.

    1. One more, Tobi, stay away from Ponchas and replace your coffee with the juice of half a lemon diluted in 1 L of water. Helps reduce your blood pressure, too.

  5. Mosquito lava breeds in stagnant water. Eliminate this and it will make a great difference. A lot of property is empty here since Covid. The owners have not returned to the island. Also there are many abandoned properties. All these should be checked for stagnant water sources and dealt with. Sources can be abandoned swimming pools, which need to be totally drained. Scrap tyres, plant pots, etc. In fact anywhere where water does not drain away.
    The authorities know exactly what to do, but they have be fired up to do something.
    Individually we can all do something every day. Check around your house and gardens.

  6. If the government here were to release sterile male mosquitos almost all of them would be eliminated. It’s entirely possible for us to total eradicate mosquitos from existence, but the eco system needs them, but you can focus on this particular species. Spraying won’t help, unless you’re spraying goods as they arrive into port etc. They’re an absolute menace.

  7. I get bitten and suffer a lot when I come to Funchal, which I am doing next week! What cream do you use from the UK please Toby, as nothing I use seems to help preventing or stop the itching and swelling!

    1. I too get bitten to pieces & the bites always react badly. I have recently been using a mix of both antihistamine gel & Fenistil applied together. It worked really well and I noticed if treated straightaway & applied numerous times through the day the bites reduced really quickly and much less troublesome.
      Hope this helps.

    2. I bought moskito guard from Amazon and so far I haven’t been bitten at all which is nothing short of miraculous for me!

  8. I too get badly bitten in Funchal. The only thing I have found works really well is PreVipiq with 30% diet roll on. You can get it in most chemists in Funchal and probably online. I always stock up on a new one before leaving Funchal ready for the next trip. Looking forward to arriving a week Sunday and seeing the Christmas lights.

  9. The Islands would benefit for Oxitech technology where #by the mosquitoes are genetically engineered to prevent further breeding

  10. If I remember right. They did this when we had the Dengue epidemic. But obviously not enough.

  11. Strongly recommend moskito guard from Amazon for those of you UK based. So far I haven’t been bitten which is amazing for me!

  12. Sadly the overuse of insecticides will kill beneficial insects as well. Bee numbers are way down and even butterfly numbers are going down. No insects fewer birds crops that need insect pollinators fail and the entire ecosystem falls apart. Yes genetic modification that prevents mosquitoes transmitting viral and biological pathogens sounds great in theory but as with multiple examples in the past introduction of foreign species or genetically modified fauna can often have unexpected and unwelcome consequences.

  13. I don’t know if my first message went through, but the islands need the genetic engineering of oxitech particularly for egypti and aedes,

  14. Very interesting comments with some good tips. When in Funchal I get bitten and have a really bad reaction, I use a repellant, take antihistamines and old fashioned Germoline on the bites and they still drive me crazy. Toby, what cream do you use, would like to know?

  15. I was bitten by a mosquito, while staying in Funchal in January 2015. I became unwell and once back in the UK got even worse. It was a most unpleasant experience. Despite several visits to the GP and the hospital, the cause of my illness could not be identified but I was negative for Malaria and Dengue fever. I’m convinced that I had the Zika virus although at that time it had not been given a name. Initial medication did not work, though later a change of medication did work, and fully recovered, I was able to travel to India at the end of February that year. I have visited Madeira 7 times since then and thankfully have not been bitten again. I always pack repellant, cream and an epi pen though.

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