Several West Nile Infected Mosquitoes Have Been Found In Three More States

Many Americans may be reluctant to face the fact that mosquito-borne diseases remain a threat to public health in the country. This reluctance is due to the relatively disease-free summer that the vast majority of Americans have been enjoying so far this year. However, it would be wise to keep the recent Zika outbreaks fresh in your mind, as disease-carrying mosquitoes have been discovered in three more states this year. Just recently, the states of Oklahoma, Connecticut and Utah have reported the presence of west Nile carrying mosquitoes. Luckily, no cases of the disease have been reported among people living in these states.

Just a few days ago, Davis County officials announced that they had captured several local mosquitoes that had been carrying the west Nile virus. This is the third county in Utah to announce a presence of west Nile-infected mosquitoes after Box Elder and Uintah Counties earlier this week. Luckily, no victims of west Nile have been reported in Utah. The lack of victims may not be do to luck, as the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District has been working all summer long to monitor mosquito activity within the state. This aggressive mosquito control campaign, has, so far, been a success within the state. The district has also been spending considerable amounts of time conducting research in order to determine which particular eradication approach is most sensible. Both biological and chemical eradication methods have been considered in the state. According to the districts assistant manager, Gregg White, mosquitoes can rapidly develop a resistance to insecticides, which makes constant monitoring and experimentation with different chemicals a necessity. White also claimed that he personally prefers biological mosquito control methods as the first line of defense against mosquitoes. So far, the preferred method of biological control involves releasing mosquito-hungry fish into waterways that are populated with larvae.

Do you believe that west Nile-carrying mosquitoes will be found in a majority of American states by the time the fall season arrives?