A mosquito breed known for carrying yellow fever and other diseases has been spotted in portions of the San Joaquin Valley.
Last week, the San Joaquin County Mosquito and Vector Control District said high numbers of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have shown up in traps around South Stockton, Manteca, Escalon and Ripon. The mosquitoes have also popped up in Butte and Glenn counties this summer.
Like the majority of other mosquitoes that live here, Aedes aegypti are not native to the state. They’re also relatively new to California, having first shown up in traps in 2011, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.
This breed causes concern because they carry different diseases than the other mosquitoes in California. The Culex species of mosquito, a more common species in California, carry diseases like West Nile virus and St. Louis Encephalitis virus, and typically wouldn’t carry diseases like yellow fever or dengue.
“[Aedes aegypti] does have the potential to carry several diseases, tropical diseases,” district spokesperson Aaron Devencenzi said. “None of those viruses that it could carry have been found in the mosquitoes here in San Joaquin County or in California thus far.”
Yellow fever is uncommon in the United States and there have been no recent recorded cases of the illness in California. There have been 23 recorded cases of dengue in the state this year, but these are all travel-related.
Unlike other mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti often bite during the daytime. This breed is also “most active for approximately two hours after sunrise and several hours before sunset, but can bite at night in well-lit areas,” according to California’s Department of Public Health.
Devencenzi said crews will be spraying portions of San Joaquin County to prevent population expansion during the early morning hours throughout the month of September. He added that inspectors will also be going door-to-door in the neighborhoods where the mosquitos have been detected.
“We’ll be checking different homes," he said. We’ll leave a door hanger if there is nobody in. We’re asking people to call us back and let us inspect around their property.”
This summer California has been a hotbed of mosquito activity, after a wet winter provided more opportunities for the insects to breed. Sacramento County and Yolo County have both reported deaths related to West Nile Virus, another disease passed along by mosquitoes.
State health officials recommend wearing insect repellent and protective clothing during the daytime to protect against Aedes aegypti bites. They also recommend that those living in affected areas “mosquito proof” their home by using screens on windows and doors and routinely flipping over vessels that could contain water around your home and garden.
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