Disaster training targets mosquitoes with dengue virus

Japan is preparing for every scenario ahead of Tokyo 2020. As part of preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, disaster training was conducted at the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Tokyo on Monday in a scenario where the dengue virus had been detected in mosquitoes. Monday was the usual weekly closing day of […]

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Researcher Clara Ocampo, PhD, Leader and Coordinator of Research in Biology and Vector Control of the International Training and Medical Research Center (CIDEIM) looks through a microscope eggs of Aedes Aegypti mosquitos on January 25, 2016, in Cali, Colombia. CIDEIM scientists are studying the genetics and biology of Aedes Aegypti mosquito which transmits the Zika, Chikungunya, Dengue and Yellow Fever viruses, to control their reproduction and resistance to insecticides. The Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease suspected of causing serious birth defects, is expected to spread to all countries in the Americas except Canada and Chile, the World Health Organization said. AFP PHOTO/LUIS ROBAYO (Photo by LUIS ROBAYO / AFP)

September 3, 2019

Japan is preparing for every scenario ahead of Tokyo 2020.

As part of preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, disaster training was conducted at the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Tokyo on Monday in a scenario where the dengue virus had been detected in mosquitoes.

Monday was the usual weekly closing day of Shinjuku Gyoen, and about 160 people, including staff from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, participated in the training. During the exercise, they used a method called “human decoy,” in which a person stands in place for eight minutes to attract mosquitoes. They then sprayed insecticide around mosquito concentration points to confirm whether insects would be eliminated.

Dengue causes fever, headache and joint pain three to seven days after being bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus. In rare cases, the disease is severe and life threatening.

Dengue fever is common in the Philippines and Malaysia and has resulted in some deaths. In 2014, for the first time in 69 years in Japan, people without travel histories to these countries became infected with the virus. Dengue virus was detected in mosquitoes collected in parks in Tokyo, but has not been detected in mosquitoes in Japan since then.

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