KEY POINTS:
Mosquito traps have been laid at Christchurch International Airport after six exotic mosquitoes were found on a flight from Brisbane on Sunday.
The Press reported today that six mosquitoes swarmed through the cockpit of the flight, biting an Australian pilot on the Boeing 737 before being destroyed.
The plane, which was being flown to Christchurch for engineering work, had no passengers on board. Medical officials would not say which airline operated the plane.
Three mosquitoes were squashed before the plane arrived in Christchurch, and another three were destroyed after arrival in the hangar.
Public health officers have since laid water-filled tyre traps to catch mosquito larvae, and light and carbon dioxide traps to catch adults, in the airport's No 1 hangar.
Two species were found in the plane by public health officers, both common in Australia: Aedes vigilax, which can carry the Ross River virus, and Culex sitiens, which can carry Murray Valley encephalitis as well as Ross River virus.
- NZPA
