New mosquito species identified in Slovakia

Monitoring of invasive species of mosquito in 2020 showed that a new species -- the originally Asian mosquito Aedes japonicus japonicus -- had appeared in Slovakia, Zuzana Vetrecin Ceplikova, PR manager of the Biomedical Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV), told TASR on Friday. The occurrence of this species not only affects biodiversity, but can also have a medical impact, as invasive mosquitoes are carriers of a wide range of pathogens. This species could transmit viruses that have not yet been native to Slovakia, such as Japanese encephalitis, chikungunya, dengue and Zika, although the main risk for Slovakia in terms of the transmission of pathogens concerns those that have already been circulating within the country, such as the West Nile virus, which has been observed mainly in the south of Slovakia.