Table 13. How do you classify the public funding for active (Aedes invasive) mosquito surveillance activities in your country? (n = 20)
| Surveillance objective | Limited in time (e.g. project based) | Embedded in a long term (> 3 yr) strategy of disease risk assessment and control | Don't know/ NA |
|---|
| Prevention of establishment after introduction of exotic mosquito species | 5 | 10 | 5 |
|---|
| Assessment of level, place and/or time of transmission risk | 7 | 7 | 6 |
|---|
| Assessment of nuisance levels | 5 | 6 | 9 |
|---|
| Investigation of outbreaks | 4 | 6 | 10 |
|---|
| Assess quality/efficiency of mosquito control intervention | 5 | 3 | 12 |
|---|
Reporting the surveillance indicators in most countries is voluntary, except for surveillance activities related to the prevention of establishment after introduction of exotic mosquito species and outbreak investigations (Table, Table).
Table 14. Is reporting of the surveillance indicators voluntary or compulsory? (n = 20)
| Surveillance objective | Compulsory | Voluntary | Don't know/NA |
|---|
| Prevention of establishment after introduction of exotic mosquito species | 7 | 6 | 7 |
|---|
| Assessment of level, place and/or time of transmission risk | 3 | 7 | 10 |
|---|
| Assessment of nuisance levels | 1 | 8 | 11 |
|---|
| Investigation of outbreaks | 7 | 6 | 7 |
|---|
| Assess quality/efficiency of mosquito control intervention | 0 | 8 | 12 |
|---|
Twelve of the 17 countries implementing Aedes invasive mosquito control implement preventive control to reduce disease risk or nuisance. Eight countries deploy reactive control after detection of cases to control an outbreak and 10 countries implement control for the elimination of invasive Aedes mosquitoes after introductions. Other objectives for the implementation of Aedes invasive mosquito control are:
reactive control after detection of imported cases of dengue, chikungunya virus disease or Zika virus disease, after risk assessment (Greece, Cyprus);
complete eradication after detection of introduction (the Netherlands);
evaluation of control methods i.e., testing the capacity for implementation and effectiveness of new tools and technologies. An example is the Sterile Insect Technique pilot trials in Portugal 2022–2024 (Portugal).
In Hungary there is no specified control against Aedes invasive mosquitoes, but it is part of the general nuisance control of mosquitoes.
The legal framework, which provides certain tools or rights facilitating mosquito control, seems to be limited. Six out of 17 countries refer to "Importation regulations", four countries (Cyprus, Netherlands, Spain, UK) refer to "the right to enter private property", and three (Cyprus, Luxembourg, Netherlands) to "tyre recycling regulation (e.g. storage regulations)".
Bulgaria has an ordinance for pest control from the MoH and the Ministry of Agriculture referring to all pests (insects, ticks and rodents) with public health importance. In Greece, recommendations for control activities are embedded in relevant circulars of the MoH on mosquito management. An inter-Ministerial Decision for mitigating the risk of importation of new Aedes invasive mosquitoes (through airplanes) is under final evaluation. Recommendations on mosquito management for mitigating the risk of importation of new Aedes invasive mosquitoes in ports and through high-risk trade products (e.g., tyres, lucky bamboo) have been communicated by the MoH to the relevant national authorities and Ministries [6]. In Malta, there is no specific legal framework relating to vector control. However, the Public Health Act does give power to the Superintendent of Public Health to institute measures to protect public health against communicable diseases including arboviral ones. In Portugal, there is no explicit national law that grants mosquito control entities the automatic right to enter private property for vector control. However, such access can be authorized in specific contexts under certain public health and civil protection framework.