Strange insects invade Egypt’s provinces

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The governorates and cities of Egypt have become vulnerable to successive attacks and invasions by strange types of insects and rodents that scare citizens who are asking why this is happening.

The directorates of veterinary medicine said that its role is limited to announcing the type of insect attacking a region and the reasons for its emergence. Still, the control and treatment of the problem remain absent in light of the loss of responsibility between the Ministry of Health, Environment, and Localities. Fingers of accusations indicate that the spread of strange insects and their remarkable multiplication is due to the accumulated rubbish in the streets, rainwater swamps, and sewage in villages and cities. Citizens believe that corruption has exacerbated the problem of litter, dogs, and stray animals, in addition to the disappearance of the pesticide sprayers. The most recent phenomenon was a few days ago after strange insects attacked Luxor, which led to a state of panic among citizens, who called the police.

The director of the Veterinary Department in Luxor explained that, with an initial examination, due to the insects’ tiny size, it was found that they are a type of tick that infect animals and may infect humans. He added that this type of insect is found in places where there are animals, but that by examining the area, they did not notice any animals in the area. And he continued: “It’s strange that these insects did not spread elsewhere, but were confined to about 500 square metres, and appeared in abundance in the streets and did not exist inside homes.” He pointed out that by looking at many of these insects, it was found that they are of the same size as if they are at one age. The familiar pesticides did not affect them, stressing that pesticides of a specific composition will be used to eliminate them.

Insect infestation

Some veterinarians commented on the matter in press statements that these insects pose a danger to citizens because they transmit diseases from person to person. According to doctors, the insects that appeared in abundance in Luxor feed on sucking certain animals’ blood. Still, basically, they do not intrude on the human body. They explained that these insects caused inconvenience to citizens because they were abundant in Luxor in particular, and until now, the reasons for their spread are not known. Luxor, in particular, is exposed to successive invasions of insects. Last year, people in Esna, south of Luxor, monitored the phenomenon of the black beetle spreading within some villages in the centre.

Two years ago, Luxor fought a fierce war against the termites that invaded Esna city and caused dozens of losses to homes in the centre and caused citizens to panic. In conjunction with the rain that hit the provinces, mainly coastal, and the high-water level in the streets, mosquitoes and flies spread. For his part, Magdy Moustafa, professor of parasites at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, said that there is a saying in parasitology that says Egypt is paradise for parasites on earth. He explained in press statements that Egypt’s temperature is suitable for most parasites, especially insects.

Litter and mice

The parasites expert indicated that there is rubbish in all streets of Egypt, and vegetable and fruit stores in the streets, including what is called soft garbage that forms a breeding ground for all insects. He stressed that there is a need to restart the pesticide spraying vehicles in the streets again, in light of the spread of insects and the water that comes out of the air conditioners and is discharged into the streets where they are a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The Veterinary Medicine Department in Cairo revealed in November of last year that there were many complaints about a new fly called the horse fly, which is larger than the house fly and is brown and a hexagonal shape. A parasites expert said in televised statements that the female horse fly sucks blood. The pinch of it is equivalent to a needle of about half a millimeter that enters the skin, causes abnormal pain and ten times more damage than the mosquito. He explained that one of the most important causes of these phenomena is the boxes full of rubbish as most of the streets are overflowing and are not removed, in addition to the sewage swamps and their environmental and health risks.

In conjunction with the spread of horse flies in Cairo, a report issued by the Preventive Medicine Department of the Ministry of Health and Population announced that Menoufia Governorate comes on top of the governorates that have been affected by the rat and dog crisis. The report indicated that citizens in Menoufia were injured by 6,241 cases of biting by stray dogs and 759 cases of mice biting, with a total of 7,000 injured. Doctors have warned of the dangers of rat biting, as it causes the plague, a bacterial disease transmitted from infected rodents to humans. The danger is if the bacteria reaches the lungs and the person develops pneumonia that can be transmitted to others through coughing.