Piemonte launches €2.5 M mosquito surveillance and prevention program

With rising summer temperatures, the Italian region of Piemonte is intensifying its fight against mosquitoes that can transmit arboviruses such as West Nile, Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika. The regional authority has allocated about €2.5 million annually to a programme run by the Institute for Wood Plants and the Environment (IPLA) in partnership with more than 200 municipalities.

The surveillance network includes roughly 180 adult mosquito traps, about 1,300 ovitraps targeting the tiger mosquito, and monitoring at airports and major logistics hubs. Collaboration with the experimental zooprophylactic institutes of Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta supports virus testing for West Nile and Usutu. Larvicidal treatments are applied to drains and standing‑water sites, with extra actions taken if human‑transmissible viruses are detected. Blood‑donation screening protocols are also enforced during the summer months.

Citizens are urged to eliminate or treat water containers on private property—estimated to host about 70 % of tiger‑mosquito breeding sites—by regularly emptying pots, keeping gutters clear, covering rain barrels and using approved larvicides. Personal protection measures such as repellents, covering clothing and installing window screens are recommended, especially for vulnerable groups and travelers to endemic regions.