De Chikungunya have been listed in mainland France since the beginning of the year, “the earliest ever identified in France”. “Other cases will probably be identified, including outside the usual transmission areas,” warns Public Health France. In Brittany, for example? A priori not immediately.
Three colonized municipalities, 53 sites under surveillance
In Brittany, the insect is permanently installed in three municipalities: Domagné (35), Rennes and La Gacilly (56). “It can be temporarily present elsewhere but not survive,” explains Béatrice Gautier-Grall, engineer at Ars Bretagne.
The Breton agency, “who tries to brake his installation”, delegates to a service provider, Altopictus, the surveillance of the diptera in the region. The private company scrutinizes 53 sites: the main urban areas, entrance points in the territory (ports, airports) or areas of tourism interest.
Only one detection in 2025
The plaster traps attract females ready to lay and capture the larvae before they become adults.
The plaster traps attract females ready to lay and capture the larvae before they become adults. (Altopicus)
Small size, the mosquito-tiger is striped white and black and “characterized by the presence of a white dorsal line along its thorax”, describes the ANSES. Unlike the common mosquito, it tends to sting the light of day.
Small size, the mosquito-tiger is striped white and black and “characterized by the presence of a white dorsal line along its thorax”, describes the ANSES. Unlike the common mosquito, it tends to sting the light of day. (Depositphotos)
This year, no pondoir trap has revealed traces of presence. Only one positive citizen report has been raised, from Saint-Jean-Brévelay (56), but the circulation of the insect was “circumscribed only by two dwellings,” says the ARS.
The Mosquito-Tigre will eventually settle in Brittany, within 20 to 30 years. It is inevitable.
“The Breton climate plays in our favor”
How to explain so few detections? First by the physiognomy of the mosquito-tiger. “More aggressive and silent” than the common mosquito, its area of activity is, revenge, “quite narrow”, describes Béatrice Gautier-Grall: “It only extends within a radius of 150 meters around its place of birth”.
The Region also has the advantage of being able to “benefit from the experience of territories which were confronted earlier when the mosquito-tiger arrived and could only take actions”, adds the engineer. Brittany has been able to anticipate – the surveillance led by Altopictus is an example. “What plays in our favor is the Breton climate,” adds Delphine Binet, agency manager for Altopicus. It limits the expansion of the mosquito and its ability to replicate viruses. »»
Chikungunya in Brittany? “Not for now”
So when will we talk about Chikungunya, Dengue or Zika in Brittany? “The densification of the mosquito-tiger is still too weak” so that it has a chance to prick a human carrier and transmit the infection, points Béatrice Gautier-Grall.
Despite everything, the insect “will end up settled definitively in Brittany, within 20 to 30 years, estimates Delphine Binet. It is inevitable. This will lead to Aboriginal cases. But it is not for now. »»
* We are talking about Aboriginal cases when a person has contracted the disease without traveling in the contaminated area within 15 days of the appearance of symptoms.
