Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes "Well-Established" In Albuquerque; Vector For Four Different Viral Diseases
If you’ve been stalked by tiny striped mosquitoes this summer, you’re not alone. These bold black-and-white bugs, aka Aedes aegypti, are “aggressive biters” and “a little bit sneakier” than other mosquitoes, said Nick Pederson, Urban Biology Division Manager with Albuquerque’s Environmental Health Department. Found in Albuquerque and points south, the Aedes aegypti mosquito has spread rapidly across the state in recent years as a result of climate change.
They may be just a nuisance now, but these mosquitoes are the primary route of transmission of four critical mosquito-borne viruses: Zika, Chikungunya, dengue fever and yellow fever. None of these diseases have been transmitted in New Mexico, Pederson said, but the Aedes aegypti’s uniquely effective adaptations to its hosts — humans — means it poses a particular danger.
Aedes aegypti “can cause truly explosive epidemics,” said Kathryn Hanley, a regents professor of biology at New Mexico State University with expertise in emerging mosquito-borne viruses.
These mosquitoes are “human-focused,” Hanley explained: They’re not interested in biting other animals. Unlike the West Nile virus, transmitted from birds to humans, humans are the reservoir for these four viruses. So one Aedes aegypti mosquito can spread a virus rapidly from person to person. Aedes aegypti die if exposed to cold temperatures. But climate change brings milder winters that makes it easier for them to overwinter, Hanley said.
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https://sourcenm.com/2022/09/12/a-new-mosquito-is-stalking-new-mexico-is-the-state-ready/
