PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR HABITAT THIS SUMMER
Two weeks into the unofficial start of summer, the mercury is rising across much of the country — along with widespread fear about the mosquito-borne Zika virus. As of this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed more than 690 Zika cases in the continental United States — including more than 200 pregnant women — as well as a long-suspected link between the virus and severe fetal abnormalities.
In April, CDC released a revised U.S. range map for the primary mosquito vector of Zika, Aedes aegypti, showing that the species ranges farther north than previously known — up to Northern California in the West and Connecticut in the East and in 30 states compared with just 12 on previous maps. The same month, a lab in Mexico reported it had for the first time detected the virus in another mosquito species: Aedes albopictus. This notorious daytime-biting Asian tiger mosquito has been plaguing gardeners and other outdoor enthusiasts for years and is already common across much of the country.
Aedes aegypti, the primary Zika virus vector, feeds on human blood. Photo by James Gathany, Flickr
So far, no Zika-carrying mosquito of either species has been detected on the U.S. mainland. Victims either got the disease elsewhere or, less frequently, from having sex with infected partners. But officials warn that as more travelers return from virus-infested countries during mosquito season, there is a good chance for “local transmission” before summer is over.