Climate Change, Biological Invasion and Emerging Diseases: a Longitudinal Sociological Study Monitoring the Spread of Asian Tiger Mosquitoes in a European Region

摘要

The consequences of climate change on public health can be direct or indirect such as, for example, by modifying vector species distribution. This is the case with Aedes albopictus, a mosquito that is a vector for dengue fever, chikungunya, and potentially the Zika virus. This article focuses on the Alpes-Maritimes department, the first French department affected by the introduction of A. albopictus, i.e., the a??Asian tiger mosquitoa??. It draws on qualitative and quantitative diachronic research conducted from 2009 to 2014 to provide a time-dependent sociological analysis of the implementation of chikungunya and dengue prevention policies and their reception by the population of the Alpes-Maritimes. The article first compares scientific expertise and the discourse of inhabitants regarding the climatic and anthropogenic factors that have encouraged the introduction and proliferation of tiger mosquitoes. It then highlights how both policy-makers and inhabitants must mediate between the epidemic-related and environmental challenges that have accompanied the spread of A. albopictus. Finally, the paper examines the (un)acceptance of the population vis-??-vis this invasive exotic species and points to the unequal capacity of different inhabitants to react when confronted with an environmental and health-related risk.