Science at UM [S03-ep31]: Dear mosquitoes
This week in the final episode of A l’UM la science of the season, Frédéric Simard from the Mivegec laboratory Mivegec laboratory and Jean-Michel Salles from the CEEM talk about the cost of mosquitoes, a topic that is creating quite a buzz. In the second part of the program, we go to Mivegec where Philippe Boussès opens the doors to a very special collection of arthropods... A program co-produced with Divergence FM and broadcast every Wednesday at 6 p.m. on 93.9.
And here we are again! The last show of the season. After this, all that remains is the promise of the holidays ahead, the blue sky and sea as our only horizons, the weight of files, orders, construction sites, and students swapped for a few weeks for that of suitcases!
Perhaps you've even started making your little list. But have you thought about mosquito repellent?
An international study coordinated by scientists from IRD, CNRS, and MNHN and published on May 17, 2024, in the journal Science of The Total Environment reveals the massive increase in the global economic cost of invasive mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, the latter better known as the tiger mosquito, which have been vectors for dengue fever, chikungunya, and the Zika virus over the past few decades.
Between 1975 and 2020, the total costs recorded amounted to $94.7 billion, a figure that is likely to be significantly underestimated according to our two guests who participated in this study: Frédéric Simard, biologist at the Mivegec laboratory (infectious diseases and vectors: ecology, genetics, evolution, and control), and Jean-Michel Salles, economist at CEEM, the Center for Environmental Economics in Montpellier.
To go further:
- Read the press release Massive increase in the global economic cost of invasive mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit.
- Listen also to the episode of A l’UM la science (Science at UM) on the cost of invasive species at the CIRAD xylotheque with Jean-Michel Salles.
In the second part of the program, we take you to the Research and Development Institute (IRD), specifically to the Mivegec laboratory (Infectious Diseases and Vectors: Ecology, Genetics, Evolution, and Control), to discover the largest collection of medically relevant arthropods in Europe, with specimens from 97 countries. Welcome to the Arim collection, where Philippe Boussès will introduce you to these little creatures.
At UM Science, you have the program, so let's get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Production: Tom Chevalier / Alice Rollet
Listen to the program “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9
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