Doctors reported an increase in patients coming forward with mosquito bites this summer, according to the Health Department, which attributes this to the Asian Tiger mosquito.

The mosquito, which migrated through the transport of goods and international travel from southeast Asia, was the culprit in the itchy bites which swell up and last for about a week, the department said.

“Unfortunately, the bites tend to cause extreme itching and many people are ending up going to doctors with an infection and requiring antibiotics because they are scratching, and in turn infecting the bite,” said Tanya Melillo, the head of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Unit.

The department has been mapping the places where the insect made an appearance throughout the summer with the help of the public who are catching the mosquitoes and sending them to the unit to be verified by an entomologist.

“The mosquito has been a big nuisance this summer to persons living in certain towns as they were unable to enjoy staying outside in their gardens,” Dr Melillo said, adding that the species had been identified in a number of towns.

The mosquito, Aedes Albopictus, is a carrier of possibly fatal human diseases like the dengue fever and a potential carrier of yellow fever, LaCrosse encephalitis and dog heartworm.

So far no insect in Malta has been found to be carrying any particular infection and the department has not been notified of any cases requiring hospitalisation.

Earlier this summer, Public Health director general Ray Busuttil had said the diseases the mosquito would normally transmit were not present in Malta and, therefore, the risk to public health was very small. The department has also communicated with the doctor of the Maltese contingent of the Commonwealth Games in India, where dengue fever occurs widely, to pass on advice on its prevention.

Just last month, France reported its first case of dengue fever infection on the mainland and was trying to kill Asian Tiger mosquitoes, which might have been carrying the deadly disease in the area.

The mosquito goes through different morphological changes starting as an egg, then larva, pupa and finally adult stage, Dr Melillo said. The adults normally emerge between May and September in the northern hemisphere and this is why they have emerged this summer, she continued.

“Now with the change in temperatures, the adult mosquito will no longer be seen during the winter and only eggs will be present,” Dr Melillo pointed out.