NZBEL 2024

Kia ora koutou, we hope that everyone is enjoying the nice weather and avoiding mozzie bites as summer heats up! In the news this month have a look at Dengue case numbers in South-East Asia and the Western Pacific, over the course of 2023, as reported by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Read about an increase in Dengue cases in South America that has led to a new vaccine campaign in Brazil, and insect spray shortages in Argentina. See how weeks of rain in Queensland has increased the risk of Ross River Virus, then learn why you should avoid using some alternative insect-repellent products sold in supermarkets and pharmacies...and more

Kia ora koutou katoa, With decreasing temperatures  around the country, mosquito numbers have been following suit. This also indicates that it is the perfect time of the year to start checking your tyre traps fortnightly in the cooler regions. In the news this month, read about the surge of dengue cases in the Americas, yellow fever in Africa, and Ross River across the ditch. Also, learn more about the secret life of mosquitoes and their role in the ecosystems. Finally, have a look at the strategies being used in Paris to stop the Asian tiger mosquito from spoiling the Olympic Games 2024. Happy reading!

Kia ora koutou katoa, This month has been particularly busy for all of us involved in our local mosquito world,  We very much appreciate everyone’s efforts and support! World Malaria Day 25 April: This year was marked under the theme “Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world”. WHO joins the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and other partners in highlighting barriers to health equity, gender equality and human rights in malaria responses worldwide – as well as concrete measures to overcome them. Mosquito numbers for this month together with the answers to the riddle for the best mosquito photo of the months we portrayed last month are below. Happy Reading!

Kia ora koutou katoa, another busy month here in the lab with the responses in Nelson and Auckland continuing and preparation for the Border Health and Ship Sanitation Certification Course here in Wellington. As always it was fantastic to meet you all at the course and we hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did! Read a quick fact sheet about Bti and its use. You can also find a short breakdown of the Culex pipiens complex.

Kia ora koutou katoa, It has been a busy month here in the lab with several interceptions and the number of mosquitoes collected across the country starting to increase as the weather starts to warm, check out the interception table to see the hard work that PHS staff have done throughout the month. In the news this month, read about Egypt being malaria-free for the first time since Tutankhamun, get an update on the ‘triple E’ virus in North America, learn about the dengue situation in France, and discover the new non-invasive method to detect malaria....

Kia ora koutou katoa, summer is here and as the weather warms up the mosquito numbers are increasing. Take a look at this month’s Bite of Information to learn how to take and enter coordinates correctly for the online mosquito database. In the news this month, read about how a mosquito’s immune system may assist in anti-malarial strategies, along with a potential new way to deliver a malaria vaccination using the mosquito itself, about the discovery of a bacteria that may increase the speed of mosquito larvae development, have a look at the alarming spread of dengue in Bangladesh which has medics and the WHO concerned.