Costa Blanca wages war on mosquitoes after ‘dengue fever-like’ case confirmed

THE Costa Blanca town of Oliva has begun a second phase of eliminating the mosquitoes and tiger mosquitoes currently plaguing the town.This is all the more important now that a case of chikungunya – similar to dengue fever – has been diagnosed in a 60-year-old patient in neighbouring Gandia. He has never travelled abroad and fell ill last July.

Both the national government and the Generalitat regional government are monitoring the situation as the tiger mosquito spreads into areas where it has never before existed, triggering a health alert.

Encouraged by the high temperatures and recent rain in the area, the mosquitoes have reappeared after fumigation last July, explained Public Health councillor Imma Ibiza.

Tiger mosquitoes – so named because of the black and white stripes on their bodies – are becoming a particular nuisance because they do not remain in wetlands but are closely associated with humans.

Town hall workers will be concentrating on areas with stagnant water which include the Oliva-Pego marsh, the beach neighbourhood and Marjaletes.

A third fumigation operation is planned for September, Ibiza revealed.