Mosquitoes carrying the yellow fever and dengue diseases spotted around the state. Vector control experts are trying to kill them off before the diseases attack people. They are going door-to-door to hunt for signs of Aedes aegypti.
The mosquito carrying diseases were spotted in San Mateo County in August. Later it was seen in two other counties in California.
Tropical illnesses are not usual in California. Apart from the Aedes aegypti, the other mosquito named Aedes albopictus, or Asian tiger, was also seen in Los Angeles County over past three years. People are concerned the mosquitoes could spread to other parts of the state too. It has also worried the vector control experts.
As of now the risk of getting bitten and suffer from yellow fever or dengue is small.
Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District spokeswoman Deborah Bass said, “We don’t really have yellow fever here at all, and the only dengue fever cases are imported… What we have now, with these mosquitoes, is a mechanism for transmission.”
Dengue was almost wiped out of the US decades ago after aggressive vector control efforts. In recent years it has returned back into few southern Florida communities.
Both the diseases spread by mosquito bites only. It does not pass from human to human. So, it will be wiped out if there are no mosquitoes that carry the virus. If only one person is infected then there is no risk of larger population, says expert.
Headaches, intense pain and high temperature are the symptoms of dengue fever.
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