Belgium’s national health institute, Sciensano, is conducting a study into potential emergent viruses and local mosquito species.
To this end, it is calling on the public to help in the collection of mosquito eggs and larvae during the mosquito season from May to October, the institute said in a press release on Monday.
For logistical reasons, the research is limited to two key areas – Leuven and Edegem/Wilrijk. Sciensano is requesting residents of these areas to gather larvae from still water sources, including rain barrels, buckets, and empty flower pots.
The institute is also urging residents to drain the water from these locations after collecting the larvae to prevent the mosquitoes from breeding.
“We are looking for local mosquito species since they are subject to ongoing studies,” researcher Evi Brams explained. “The collected eggs and larvae will be hatched into adult mosquitoes in our labs for use in experiments.”
“The research targets viruses that cause tropical infectious diseases,” Brams added.
Volunteers are invited to participate by providing their contact details, potential egg or larvae collection sites, and available time slots to either Sara Goossens (sara.goossens@sciensano.be, Leuven region) or Evi Brams (evi.brams@sciensano.be, Edegem/Wilrijk region).
