The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) has probably become native to Berlin. This would be the northernmost point of their spread in Germany so far. As the State Office for Health and Social Affairs (Lageso) reports, a tiger mosquito was detected in the same allotment garden where the animal was found in late summer 2021. The authority evaluates this as evidence that the animals have wintered there – only this can create a large population. Although tiger mosquitoes have been appearing sporadically in Berlin since 2017, they were only introduced from southern climes and died again in winter.
The tiger mosquito is considered potentially dangerous because it can absorb and transmit more than 20 pathogens, including very serious infections such as dengue or chikungunya. It has been spreading in Germany in Germany for several years. There, even already laid eggs survive the winter in a dry -resistant rigid state. Experts therefore suspect that the mosquito there is now permanently at home. Since brooding populations in the extreme southwest of Germany were first demonstrated in 2015, the tiger mosquito has established itself in large parts of Baden-Württemberg and in Thuringia.
Because it is aggressive and often bites several people one after the other, the tiger mosquito is very good at spreading pathogens quickly and effectively. So far, however, the risk of actually becoming seriously ill from a tiger mosquito bite is negligible in Germany. The viruses are not yet widespread in Germany, so the mosquitoes could not pick them up anywhere. There is a danger when infected people enter from endemic regions and are bitten by the mosquitoes. In this way, for example, there was an epidemic of chikungunya fever in Italy in 2017.
Note. D. Red.: Tiger mosquitoes are not considered relevant vectors for yellow fever so far. Therefore, we have adapted the text and removed "yellow fever" in the transmitted viruses.
