Rising mosquito population increases hospitalizations
The Asian tiger mosquito, which has become quite widespread in Turkey lately, has also become a nightmare for the citizens of Manisa. Panicked citizens flocked to the emergency services because of the prolonged itching and the occurrence of large swellings compared to other mosquitoes. Manisa Metropolitan Municipality has also taken action regarding mosquito bites, which have caused congestion in emergency services in Manisa over the past month. Water buckets, flower pots on balconies, car or truck tires thrown by the side of the road, in private estates with gardens, make up 82 percent of the breeding sources of flies. With the weather warming, the teams affiliated with the Manisa Metropolitan Municipality Health Affairs Department, which has accelerated the spraying activities, are continuing their inspections to remove the environments in which mosquitoes can reproduce. During the teams’ inspections, millions of mosquito larvae were found in water buckets filled for irrigation purposes in a private garden. The teams, giving citizens the necessary warnings, prevented the formation of mosquitoes by emptying the buckets. The teams, who checked the waste tire during the spraying and inspection, found that water accumulated in the tire and that mosquito larvae were found in this water. The teams, who emptied the water in the waste tire and prevented the formation of mosquitoes, then carried out spraying operations and warned the citizens to be careful about this problem.
“82 percent of mosquito breeding grounds are caused by humans”
Erhan İnce, Head of the Health Affairs Department of Manisa Metropolitan Municipality, provided information about the surveys conducted and said, “As the Health Affairs Department of Manisa Metropolitan Municipality, we provide services in 17 districts. We also do our field checks on the mosquito complaints that have been received in recent days. As we have established, we have seen thousands of mosquito larvae in one hive. According to research, 82% of mosquito breeding areas are man-made. Our citizens need to be careful in areas with standing water, such as waste tires, waste bins, buckets and pot bottoms, such as the situations we have identified here. This is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Our fight against these vectors that endanger public health continues. Recently, a population increase has been observed due to global warming and climate change. Unfortunately, since 82% of breeding grounds are man-made, we also need the support of our citizens. We ask our citizens to support our efforts.”
“In the past month, the number of requests to emergency services has increased due to mosquito bites.”
Manisa City Hospital Emergency Medicine Physician Specialist, who said that the number of requests related to mosquito bites to emergency services has increased recently. Mert Deringöz said: “Recently, especially in the last month, the requests in all emergency services have increased enormously due to mosquito bites. We saw a huge increase in children in particular. In general, it comes as a prolonged itch that does not go away, associated wounds and rashes on the body. We can see allergic reactions, albeit very rarely,” he said.
“Because it’s a new species, the body’s reactions are usually abnormal”
Saying that the Asian tiger mosquito is a new species, the reactions in the body are abnormal. Deringöz said: “There is a change in mosquito species compared to previous years. Especially in Türkiye and Greece, the population of the Asian tiger mosquito species increased. They are a somewhat invasive mosquito species. Too many populations have increased. Being a new species, the body’s reactions are usually abnormal. The mosquito comes, lands on the body and finishes its work. At that moment we feel nothing. The mosquito injects certain substances, enzymes to numb the area. The body also reacts to the proteins in the enzymes. It also manifests as swelling, redness, itching. As our body learns to respond less well to the type of mosquito that often bites us, it begins to respond more strongly to a new type of mosquito bite. This can result in greater itching, larger lesions, or sometimes more severe allergic reactions. That’s why people came to the emergency room more often,” he said.
Deringöz stated that there is no need to panic except for allergic reactions, saying: “First of all, we should know that mosquito bites are not something to be afraid of. We see a lot of worry and panic. First of all, you have to be cold-blooded. With the mosquito bite, it is necessary to clean the area with plenty of soapy water first so that we do not absorb other harmful substances or pathogens carried by the mosquito into our body. Second, scratching is a behavior we should avoid. Because we can open wounds by scratching. We can irritate that area. It can cause skin infections or more serious infections. Applying cold instead of scratching works very well. Soaking under cold water or using an ice pack wrapped in a towel will relieve both the itching and swelling. If that doesn’t work, rubbing that area with cologne will reduce the itching and swelling. Diluting baking soda with a small amount of water, making a paste and applying it to the area will reduce itching. If it doesn’t go away with this, we use the group of drugs called antihistamines, which relieve the itching.
Deringöz stated that citizens can turn to hospitals in case of infection due to persistent swelling, itching and itching: “There are additional cases due to mosquito bites. The person may be allergic to the fly, may be allergic to the proteins of the fly. In these cases, it is necessary to come to the emergency services when a widespread skin rash begins on the body, swelling in the throat, difficulty breathing and swallowing, shortness of breath and wheezing. We need to get it back together soon. Normally we see a lesion up to 2 centimeters in a mosquito bite. When the body reacts abnormally, it can go up to 10 centimeters. Typically, this lesion will appear within 20 minutes and disappear within 2 days, while lesions as large as 10 centimeters may take up to 2 hours to grow. It may take more than 4 days to pass. At such times, since the lesion is large, a wound can be opened with itching. It can put germs on that area and turn it into a skin infection. If a person experiences a rise in temperature over a major lesion, swelling in the neck, armpits, and groin area, and fever, he/she should contact infectious disease, family medicine, dermatology clinics, even if there is no emergency room. We watched it a lot last Eid-al-Adha. They can also apply to emergency services in prolonged periods.
