Since May, citizens in eight Belgian municipalities have reported sightings of tiger mosquitoes, according to the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) on Wednesday.
The municipalities of Zaventem and Kortenberg have recently been added to the list, alongside earlier reports from Merelbeke-Melle, Aat, Kessel-Lo, Hoegaarden, Wijnegem, and Etterbeek.
These citizen reports bring the total number of municipalities where tiger mosquitoes have been observed this season to eight.
Authorities are also actively monitoring the presence of this invasive mosquito species. ITM research revealed that tiger mosquitoes survived last winter in areas such as Sint-Joost-ten-Node.
The current tally of affected locations stands at eight, but this number may increase after the winter months. According to entomologist Wim Van Bortel from ITM, the species often enters Belgium through travellers returning by car from holiday destinations like southern France.
Tiger mosquitoes can carry viruses such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. However, no cases of these diseases have been reported in Belgium so far. The tiger mosquito season runs until the end of October.
