• Several Internet users have posted an alert on Facebook in recent days, assuring that a "new kind of mosquito bite" could prove fatal.

  • The photograph used, which dates from 2017, is of a young American woman whose health has recovered after antibiotic treatment.

  • Contacted by

    20 Minutes

    , the doctor Marc Perrussel rules out the possibility of new mosquito bites that are more dangerous to health.

    However, the bites of these insects can cause allergic or infectious reactions in rare cases.

Beware, attack by human-eating mosquitoes!

Several Facebook posts published in favor of the return of summer warn Internet users of a new danger.

"Urgent to circulate," announces the publication, accompanied by the photo of a red and swollen knee.

On the latter are traced the contours of an inflammation which would be due to "a new kind of mosquito bite".

It is even specified that the victim was found "drowsy" by her family who took her to the emergency room and that, if the latter had waited any longer, "the affection would have reached blood and caused her death".

FAKE OFF

Posted numerous times over the past few days, the image and its commentary could suggest the event is recent. It is not so. The photo was uploaded in March 2017 by an American mother. In her commentary, Sonia Giudenian explained that she wanted to share with her colleagues and friends the misadventure experienced by her daughter Deanna. A few days after a mosquito bite, the mosquito's knee swelled, reddened and became hot. Deanna found herself in a drowsy state. Her mother says she took her to the emergency room where she was diagnosed with a "new type of mosquito bite" which caused an infection that could have reached the blood. He concludes: “Don't ignore mosquito bites if you notice that they are swelling or turning red. »In comment,the mother indicates that her daughter is well and that she is on antibiotic treatment for ten days.

The viral posts over the past few days pick up on most of Sonia Giudenian's post four years ago.

In detail that the latter does not mention a fatal risk for Deanna after the auscultation by the doctors.

A point which undoubtedly explains in part the virality of the message.

A "new kind of mosquito bite", really?

However, has a "new kind of mosquito bite" been noticed by doctors in Europe in recent months?

To find out more,

20 Minutes

contacted Marc Perrussel, dermatologist and vice-president of the National Union of Dermatologists-Venereologists (SNDV), to get an expert opinion on Deanna's situation.

For the specialist, you should not attack insects or be afraid of a new killer mosquito. Looking at the photograph, Marc Perrussel confirms the presence of a major edema on the person's knee. If it is impossible to make a definitive diagnosis on the basis of a photograph, the doctor identifies two possibilities to explain such a reaction - very rare - to a mosquito bite.

The first is an allergy, which results in the release of histamine, a vasodilator, which will promote papules, hence the "urticaria" or "nettle sting" effect. This then causes itching. But the edema can be more important and become more dangerous if it is in the face or neck. “In this case, we can sometimes get angioedema which can be serious. ". And to add: “It can happen with any insect - mosquito, bee, etc. - and in any region. It is not the little beast that is directly involved, it is the allergic reaction that is dangerous. "

The second possibility is that of infectious cellulitis. The latter is caused by a foreign body - the bite of an insect, a syringe, etc. - which causes the spread of bacteria in the body. This is called a streptococcus or a staphylococcus. The bacteria will then cause erysipelas: "The subcutaneous tissue will become infected after scratching and the streptococcus will spread under the skin", explains Marc Perrussel. The infection will then lead to edema, extremely severe pain, redness and 40 ° fever. If the infection can be treated with antibiotics, it can have more serious consequences according to the doctor: "It is an important picture that requires urgent treatment to avoid necrotizing fasciitis,gangrene of the skin that would require surgery. "

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