At the Russian Mosquito Festival, the more bites the better

BEREZNIKI, Russia (AP) — There definitely was a buzz about this Russian community during the weekend.

While fears of the Zika virus have kept some people away from the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, for residents of this town, the more mosquito bites the better.

During this weekend’s Russian Mosquito Festival in Berezniki, Russia, 9-year-old Irina Ilyukhina won the “tastiest girl” category with 43 bites to show for going berry-picking in the forest with her mother. She was awarded a ceramic cup in honor of the welts all over her legs.

Unusually hot and dry weather in the Ural Mountains town, however, has greatly depleted the number of mosquitoes this year. Festival organizers had to cancel the traditional mosquito hunt, where participants try to collect as many of the insects as possible in jars.

The heat also had Yana Solyarskaya sweltering in her mosquito costume as she led some of the dancing during the festival, now in its fourth year.

Russia has detected only a few Zika cases, all in people who are thought to have been infected in areas outside the country where the virus has spread.