France struggles to tackle menace of mosquitoes ahead of Paris Olympics

France has been struggling to make the 2024 Paris Olympics a mosquito-free zone. The virus-spreading Asian tiger mosquito has emerged as a threat to the Paris Olympics organisers.

With millions of fans, visitors and hundreds of athletes set to arrive in the French capital, the French government is taking steps to avert the danger of mosquitoes.

The Asian tiger mosquitos, which have spread across northern Europe over the last two decades, carry the virus of diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and zika.

The authorities, however, thus far failed to eliminate the mosquitos.

With the Paris Olympics just a few months away, France is yet to find a way to tackle the menace of the virus.

"When you are sick with dengue, you won't be jumping over any hurdles," Didier Fontenille, an entomologist and expert on vector-borne diseases, was quoted as saying by AFP.

"The host cities and especially the Olympic Village must be kept mosquito-free," he said.

In 2023, France reported 45 dengue cases, attributed to local virus transmission.

Researchers have been working on DNA modification and sterilisation to diminish the mosquito population.

Fontenille said stagnant water should be cleaned. He suggested that citizen mobilisation should happen to keep the water bodies clean as the mosquitoes find the stagnant water the ideal conditions for laying their eggs.