We all know that guy who thinks that the world is going to end. Or maybe we will all die as a result of nuclear war, or another plague will wipe out humanity. These sorts of people also tend to make a big deal out of small insect-borne outbreaks when they occur. Last year at least one person you know probably ranted about how the Zika virus will vast amounts of America’s population. Well, now the United States government may agree with your crazy friend, as researchers working for the US government are warning Americans to prepare for an invasion of disease carrying mosquitoes.
This is not the first time that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned the public about the negative effects that could result from climate change. The CDC has warned the public that climate change could increase the amount of disease spreading insects, such as mosquitoes and ticks. A recent article published in the Journal of Medical Entomology showed a map that detailed which areas of the United States are most populated by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. These two types of mosquitoes carry and transmit viruses that can cause severe illness or death, such as dengue fever, chikungunya and the Zika virus.
The authors of the article claimed that among the forty eight states located within the continental United States, seventy one percent of them could contain the aegypti, and seventy five percent could contain the albopictus. The article states that dengue fever, chikungunya and the Zika virus are the three most probable mosquito-borne diseases to infect people living within mainland America.
The current and future increase in disease carrying mosquito populations is due to a few different climatic factors. The most obvious factor is the increasingly warm winters. Some regions of the United States are becoming warm enough during the winter for mosquito eggs to survive for the entire season. Increased rainfall is also contributing to an explosion in the mosquito population. This is especially true for the albopictus, as this group of mosquitoes rely on water even more than the egypti do in order to breed. Wearing clothes with long sleeves and keeping your skin covered as much as possible is highly advised by experts.
Do you think that this threat brought on by climate change will prompt more research concerning the development of a vaccine?