Two mosquito-borne diseases pose serious threat to Florida
Two mosquito-borne diseases pose serious threat to Florida
The Aedes aegypti mosquito, shown here, is one type of mosquito capable of infecting people with dengue fever. (REUTERS/James Gathany/CDC/Handout via Reuters)
Two mosquito-borne diseases - dengue fever and chikungunya - are posing a serious threat to Florida and residents should take steps to control mosquito populations to try to limit the danger, a leading health
expert said on Wednesday.
The Florida of Health, in its latest weekly report, said that through last week dengue fever had been confirmed in 24 people in Florida and chikungunya confirmed in 18 people. Both are viral diseases spread by mosquito bites.
All of the infected people in Florida have traveled to the Caribbean or and could have become infected there, according to Walter Tabachnick, director of the Florida Medical Entomological Laboratory in Vero Beach, which is part of the University of Florida.
Epidemiologists are worried that mosquitoes in Florida may have picked up the diseases by biting infected people, which could kick off an epidemic in the state, Tabachnick said.
"The threat is greater than I've seen in my lifetime," said Tabachnick, who has worked in the field for 30 years.
"Sooner or later, our mosquitoes will pick it up and transmit it to us. That is the imminent threat," he added.
Tabachnick urged the public to eliminate standing water including in buckets and where mosquitoes can breed. "If there is public apathy and people don't clean up the yards, we're going to have a problem," Tabachnick said.
Dengue is potentially fatal, and both diseases cause serious and lingering . The most common symptoms of chikungunya infection are fever and joint pain , according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Tabachnick said the last statewide epidemics in Florida of dengue occurred in the 1930s. Localized epidemics of dengue occurred in 2013 in a small neighborhood in Jensen Beach where 24 people were infected, and in 2009 and 2010 in Key West where 28 people were infected, according to state and federal reports.
The Caribbean Public Health Agency said this week that authorities in 18 Caribbean countries or territories had reported more than 100,000 confirmed or suspected cases of chikungunya.
In the , where health officials reported more than 53,000 suspected cases, hospitals in hard-hit areas are treating hundreds of new patients per day.
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I had West Nile Virus a few years ago, ( which I know is not the same as this )and I have never been so sick in my life. These people better take care, it's nothing to mess around with.
I used to work on West Nile for the CDC...mosquitoes are very interesting and pretty creatures... at least the males are. Only females bite.
I guess Brazil developed a sterilizing mosquito Link to old news and released it in larger numbers this year for the world cup/Olympics (it's genetically engineered to make the second generation sterile... so first generation procreates and second generation is sterile leading to mass death in ~1 month because generations are about 2 weeks...
The issue with this is that if the mosquito population is continually devastated, I think there will be a major die out of the birds, frogs, fish and other bugs that eat mosquitoes. Since they procreate and grow so rapidly in such high numbers, they are a major segment of the food chain for a lot of creatures.
Anyway... random mosquito news.
I think there will be a major die out of the birds, frogs, fish and other bugs that eat mosquitoes. Since they procreate and grow so rapidly in such high numbers, they are a major of the food chain for a lot of creatures.
Good point, I didn't think about that. When I hear" Mosquito", I just think about how deathly ill I was with the West Nile Virus.
I'm glad you just got the regular virus and not Encephalitis.
I've heard it is super painful. Luckily, I did not get it doing the field work I was doing. It was something that happened in the researchers though... but we managed to finish the horse vaccine, so that's a good thing.
It took tons of tests and about 1and 1/2 month to find out what it was, so I was sick that entire time. I still can't gain back the weight I lost I'm 4/10 and weigh 83 pounds. Oh well, at least I'm over it.
Ugh . I knew there was a problem with living in FLA and this is it . Mosquitoes are the FLA state bird ...
I posted an article about chikungunya to the Bad News Club a while ago . Remind me to stay away from the Caribbean .
I was in the Caribbean a few years ago, but thankfully that wasn't a big problem then.
The State Bird of Minnesota is the Mosquito. They needs landing light at night.
Actually they are the biggest killers on earth. Malaria is still a huge problem throughout most of the world.
Mike, here in the Ozarks, around Table Rock Lake, we don't have mosquito's. Believe it or not, but there are none. Probably due to little if no stagnant water. No level ground,no stagnant water.
Kavika, thanking his lucky stars that he doesn't have to deal with mosquitos.
Absolutely right on that one Kavika. Public enemy #1. People that have never lived in the north dont get it. Ya get 3, maybe 4 months outta the year to enjoy outside; without some kinda protection, being bitten by them hundreds of times a day is not enjoyable.
Oh Tzia, I'm so sorry to read you were exposed to the West Nile Virus. Because I've owned horses in the past, I'm aware of it. I know it can be very serious. I've heard of Dengue Fever, but not the other. Pretty scary!! With the water and climate here, there are always a lot of mosquitos and something to try to protect against. Thanks for the report!