More than 100 citizen reports on tiger mosquitoes in Berlin

The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) is a striking black and white patterned mosquito between two and ten millimetres in size.

Numerous Berliners have already sent tips about a possible tiger mosquito occurrence to a new central contact point.

This had only been set up in mid-August. "Immediately after the publication of our offer, we received over 100 e-mails," the district office of Mitte informed the Deutsche Presse-Agentur upon request. "Almost all of the e-mails explicitly claim a tiger mosquito occurrence." This has not yet been confirmed in any case, but the monitoring is only at the beginning, they said.

Official doctor "very satisfied" with number of responses

Most of the mails came from the outskirts of Berlin and also from near the water areas, the district reported. "I am very satisfied with the response of the population, obviously there was a lack of a low-threshold contact point," said Mitte's medical officer Lukas Murajda. According to the district, the first thing to do now is to collect and evaluate data. The next step will then be based on this data. "Many people expect us to go straight to the city and fight all the mosquitoes. However, that is not our task and would not be efficient and appropriate now," they said.

Send in trapped mosquitoes by letter

The district office now appeals: "If you have been bitten by something, send it to us! Trapped mosquitoes can be sent in by letter: it is sufficient to place the insect between paper towels or napkins beforehand. The address: Vektormonitoring, Gesundheitsamt Berlin-Mitte, Haus B, Turmstraße 21, 10559 Berlin. Senders are asked to include the district and, if possible, the exact address. The date of a sting would also be of interest.

Mitte district office plays a central role in the fight against the tiger mosquito

Recently, the authorities responsible for health at the state and district levels had agreed that the Mitte district office would take on a central role in the joint fight against the tiger mosquito in Berlin. Earlier, an expert had sounded the alarm that time was running out. People from all over Berlin can now also contact the address [e-mail] if they suspect they have been bitten by a tiger mosquito or after a catch.

Tiger mosquito detected so far in Treptow-Köpenick and Neukölln

Tiger mosquitoes can transmit dangerous infections with tropical diseases. In the course of climate change, they have spread further north. However, diseases such as dengue fever are still rare in this country. According to the State Office for Health and Social Affairs, tiger mosquitoes have so far been found in Treptow-Köpenick and Neukölln.