New invasive mosquito species known to carry viruses in Florida

A new invasive mosquito species known to carry viruses, including yellow fever, has been discovered in Florida, scientists have warned.

The Aedes scapularis mosquitoes have been confirmed in two South Florida counties – Miami-Dade and Broward – but are now at risk of spreading along the Gulf of Florida and the Atlantic coast, according to a study written by Lawrence Reeves, an entomologist and research scientist at the University of Florida.

Until now, the insects have mainly been found in the Caribbean and Latin America, NPR reports.

In Brazil, they have been found infected with “a range of diseases,” such as the Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus and the yellow fever virus, Reeves told the outlet.

It’s unclear whether the disease-ridden species actually spread the viruses they carry, but as outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases – most recently dengue fever – have sprung up in Florida, researchers say the discovery is important.

Lindsay Campbell, who co-authored the study with Reeves, said it is known Aedes scapularis mosquitoes love to go inside – and they feed on wildlife as well as humans.

The Aedes scapularis was first seen in the Everglades in 2019.
The Aedes scapularis was first spotted in the Everglades in 2019.
Alamy Stock Photo

This is worrying because species capable of transferring between animals, particularly bats, and humans create “the prerequisite for a spillover event,” Campbell told NPR.

Scientists investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic said last month that the virus “most likely” came from bats.

Reeves first identified Aedes scapularis in 2019 among mosquitoes he collected near Everglades National Park in southern Florida.

In a follow-up study in November 2020, Reeves found that the species is “located” in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

But his new study, co-written with Campell, suggests the mosquitoes will continue to spread north.

Reeves noticed that too Aedes scapularis is one of 10 new invasive mosquito species found in Florida since 2000 as a result of factors such as climate change, international travel, and global trade.

He predicts more worrisome species are on the way.

“A lot of people are concerned Aedes vittatus [It] is kind of a vector for pretty much everything we worry about: dengue, chikungunya, Zika, ”he told NPR.

Aedes vittatus is native to India but is found in Cuba just 90 miles south of the Florida coast.

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