Day-biting mosquitoes that can carry yellow fever, Zika virus spread to Yuba City
Aggressive day-biting mosquitoes that can transmit yellow fever, Zika, dengue and other serious illnesses have been in traps set in Yuba City, public health officials announced Wednesday.
”Our goal is to control and eliminate this mosquito population.” said Stephen Abshier, the manager of the Sutter-Yuba Mosquito & Vector Control District. “We are doing everything we can to help ensure this mosquito does not become established in our communities.”
Abshier reported that the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were collected Friday morning and identified on Tuesday. His team is trying to evaluate the extent of the infestation and will work to eliminate it.
Aedes aegypti, more commonly known as yellow fever mosquitoes, have been detected this year across a growing expanse of Central and Northern California, with Ceres, Le Grand, Shasta County, Stockton, Turlock, Visalia ranking among the locales.
Vector district officials ask residents to report instances of mosquitoes biting during daylight hours. Other types of mosquitoes are most active at dusk and dawn.
While aegypti can transmit a number of diseases with names that are foreign to many Americans, no known cases of illnesses associated with the pest have been linked to mosquito bite in California.
Zika virus was first discovered in Uganda’s forest in 1947, medical experts say, but it wasn’t until 2014 when the disease exploded in the Americas that experts in infectious disease began to notice the correlation between the illness and birth defects.
Babies infected with the illness while in the womb have developed microcephaly, or a small head, as a result, according to reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When the illness occurs later in pregnancy, there is risk of premature birth or miscarriage. Occasionally, babies can be born appearing to have no sign of the congenital defects, but they can appear up to a year later.
Not everyone who gets Zika virus will get symptoms, and the disease can remain active in semen long after men have recovered from the disease. Consequently, he said, it can be transmitted through sexual encounters by men who look healthy.
Both dengue fever and chikungunya are quite serious illnesses. While chikungunya is not fatal, it causes very severe bone and joint pain that can last months to years, and it can be debilitating.
Dengue is typically not serious the first time that someone gets it, but the second time, it can be quite severe.
The aegypti mosquitoes lay their eggs just above the water line dishes under potted plants, in bird baths and feeders, in ornamental fountains, in tin cans, in children’s toys, in discarded tires and other containers that hold small amounts of water..
To combat the spread of mosquitoes, public health officials urge residents to remove any standing water from their properties. Scrub bird baths and any pet watering dishes weekly, and dump the water from overflow dishes under potted plants. If you need help identifying where mosquitoes are breeding, call your local vector control district for assistance.
In hot weather, mosquitoes can go from egg to adulthood in four to seven days, vector district officials say, and female mosquitoes can lay hundreds of eggs over their short life-spans.
To reduce the risk of mosquito bites, Dr. Phuong Luu, the pubic health officer for Yuba and Sutter counties, recommended:
▪ Apply repellents containing federally approved ingredients such as DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR3535 on your skin or clothing.
▪ Wear long sleeve shirts, long pants, socks and shoes outdoors.
▪ Check window and door screens to be sure there are no holes or gaps that a mosquito could use to enter your home.
If you find yourself sick with fever, headache, and joint or muscle pain, contact your doctor. These symptoms might also be a sign of West Nile virus, an illness transmitted by other varieties of mosquitoes.
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Day-biting mosquitoes that can carry yellow fever, Zika virus spread to Yuba City."
