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Episode details

Radio 4,09 Sep 2014,30 mins

When Mosquitoes Attack!

Costing the Earth

Available for over a year

Jheni Osman investigates whether the threat of mosquito-borne disease is moving closer to home in the UK. She joins Public Health England's Medical Entomologist, Jolyon Medlock, hunting for signs of the invasive Asian Tiger Mosquito in the motorway service stations of Kent. The mosquito has been spreading across the world in waste tyres exported for recycling. Jheni spends an evening as the bait in a trapping study, designed to find out whether there is a risk of West Nile Virus being spread by mozzies already living in the UK. And, it seems the boom in water butts has provided mosquitoes with a perfect breeding ground in our back gardens. Producer: Sarah Swadling.

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