Alert: Invasive Mosquito Carrying Diseases Found in a US State

Invasive Mosquitoes Carrying Diseases
Invasive Mosquitoes Carrying Diseases. Credit | Getty images

United States: In different counties of California and subsequently, San Diego also, a mosquito which isn’t native, and thus could be carrying deadly diseases was found.

Efforts by the state department of health

The investigation is going on by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), which has been keeping vigil in monitoring invasive Aedes mosquitoes across California for many years in the past as a part of a state-level vector-borne disease surveillance system.

The San Diego Vector Control Program map shows the presence of invasive mosquitoes of Aedes species in all areas of San Diego County. The map helps us to visualize the spread of pathogens.

Across California, the below counties are reporting the presence of invasive Aedes mosquitoes, while just a few counties in the state have found both Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (also known as the tiger mosquito). More the updated report can be seen on Dengue Infections in California by CDPH-related infection displayed county wise feom the start of January 1 till April 1.

According to fox5sandiego.com, counties and the respective number of Dengue infections are listed as follows –

Kings County – 1

Napa – 1

Riverside – 1

San Francisco – 3

San Mateo – 1

Santa Cruz – 2

Sonoma – 1

Ventura – 2

Yolo – 1

Additionally, for other parts of the US, the map by CDC showed the presence of he Aedes aegypti mosquito inside the entire southern half of the United States. However, lesser concentration is noticed in the southwestern states of Arizona and New Mexico.

More about the prevalent species

Visual Representation of Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes. Credit | Shutterstock

According to expert reports, the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitoes generallt bite a number of times in a day and are active during the day. Mosquito biting people may be infected by all of these viruses, such as zika, dengue, yellow fever, and chikungunya viruses – San Diego’s Vector Control Program. These mosquitoes are commonly called as yellow fever mosquito.

As per the reports, these mosquitoes are unique in appearance; they are tiny and black in size, along with peculiar white strips on their legs, as fox5sandiego.com reported.

The breeding sites of Aedes mosquitoes are in used tires, tarps, rain gutters clogged with debris, and the like. They only require a small amount of water to lay their eggs; hence, invasion of their breeding sites is important. When it’s warm, the days for mosquitoes are shortened, and the egg-adult transition is reduced to less than one week.

How to prevent the infection spread – Experts

The measures suggested by the health experts to prevent the spread of infection are: avoid emptying or treating any water potholes around your property, close windows and door screens with fine mesh to ensure they don’t let any mosquitoes in, wear long sleeves and pants, and use insect repellant.

Invasive Aedes mosquitoes lay their eggs in small containers of water. When it’s warm, the mosquitoes can go from egg to adult in less than one week.