Scientists in Florida have confirmed that there is a new breed of mosquito in town that can transmit a very dangerous range of diseases, including yellow fever. And while it is currently only in two counties in the state, a new document indicates that the reach could spread across the Sunshine State
The new mosquito is known as Aedes scapularis, and its usual habitat is the tropics, which stretch all over Central America and to parts of South America and into the Caribbean. However, only one recorded specimen of it made it to Florida, when larval specimens were found in the middle of the Florida Keys in 1945.
But in 2019, University of Florida entomologists found specimens of this skeeter during a sample collection in the Everglades. In a study conducted last year, scientists confirmed that the mosquitoes were present in healthy numbers in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Now, in a sequel paper, published this month in the journal Insects, scientists are using environmental modeling to project that Aedes scapularis could spread along the Florida coast.
In its usual habitat, Aedes scapularis has been associated with a number of serious illnesses, including yellow fever, which has been all but eradicated in the US; the latest outbreak was in New Orleans in 1905There is also concern that mosquitoes like it Aedes scapularis, which likes to bite on both humans and animals, could lead to what are known as spillover events. These occur when diseases spread from one species to another, similar to how covid-19 was likely first transmitted to humans through animals. (To be clear, the mosquito is not a known transmitter of Covid-19, so at least Floridians don’t need to worry about that.)
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The new research shows that Aedes scapularis probably ended up in Florida through human travel and trade, but climate change could play a role in its spread across the peninsula. In warmer temperatures, the bug can propagate north. While no cases of yellow fever have been detected where the mosquito resides, they are known to carry the disease in their native range, which increases the risk in Florida.
It’s a well-known story, because rising temperatures allow disease-carrying mosquitoes to move north. The Lancet recently found that warmer temperatures were responsible for the spread of dengue fever to new places; 2018 was the second worst year for the spread of dengue fever since registration began, and nine of the 10 worst years have occurred since 2000. A different kind of bastard, Florida Mosquito Tourist, Aedes aegypti, infected more than 50 people with the disease last summer. Mosquitoes that can transmit the Zika virus have been researched similar claims
Scientists have also warned that the ever closer contact between humans and nature increases the risk of more spillover events where animal-born diseases increasingly find human hosts. Findings released last year show that spending just $ 40 to $ 58 billion a year can help prevent dangerous disease outbreaks, which is a fraction of the cost of a major disease outbreak.
Hopefully, after this never-ending pandemic, we won’t see another mosquito-induced public health crisis. But if you’re planning to go to Disney World after getting vaccinated this summer, don’t forget to pack repellants just in case.