There is a strong chance that the tiger mosquito will be permanently established in our country within five years. Previous Minister of Public Health Jan Anthonie Bruijn (VVD) warns of this in a letter to the Dutch House of Representatives. As a result, the risk of outbreaks of (tropical) infectious diseases such as dengue fever and chikungunya will also increase. “We’ve seen this coming for quite some time; it’s simply related to climate change,” says Marion Koopmans, professor of virology at Erasmus University.

The minister bases his warning on research by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). They expect that the Asian exotic species will likely no longer be eradicable within two to five years. “The NVWA has been trying to prevent this for some time, but we are already seeing this mosquito in our country on a fairly regular basis.”

Read the full (Dutch) interview with Marion Koopmans on the BNR website.