Dr. Paul Sandoval, an epidemiologist with Roadrunner Health, told village councilors in Corrales Tuesday that the Zika Mosquito has been in the area for nearly two years and is proving difficult to evict. (CDC)
Aedes aegypti is back — and she’s bringing the same threat to Corrales residents as last year.
One of the nicknames for the insect is “Zika mosquito,” but it can also carry chikungunya, yellow fever, dengue, encephalitis and other illnesses.
Dr. Paul Sandoval, an epidemiologist with Roadrunner Health, told village councilors in Corrales Tuesday that the mosquito has been in the area for nearly two years and is proving difficult to evict.
He said the City of Albuquerque is going after the bug’s ability to reproduce, deploying a big truck that shoots a stream of larvicide into the air. It is a type of pesticide designed to kill mosquito larvae before they reach adulthood.
Sandoval said the plan is for the wind to disperse the larvicide around neighborhoods. He said the product is identical to what the village uses at ground level.
“And the idea is, this larvicide goes into everything it can — any pots, kids’ toys, whatever’s in the yard,” he said. “it doesn’t hurt anything, can’t kill anything. Doesn’t make any horses sick. Doesn’t cause any problems with people or animals.”
Sandoval said he’d like to see how the strategy works out in Albuquerque, including residents’ responses to the practice, which could leave residue on cars and windows.
“People will not be happy, but it’s one of the newest ways to fight this girl,” he said.
Sandoval told councilors that A. aegypti is more aggressive than the mosquitoes typically found in the village and behaves differently.
“She’s what we call our ‘urban mosquito,’” he said. “She likes to be among the houses. She wants to be right with everybody. The other mosquitoes, they’re out in the field. We can treat those. We can fog them. It’s easy. She’s not so easy. She’s pretty tough.”
Sandoval said A. aegypti’s behaviors include biting right below the knee and biting the same person more than once or biting multiple people in a group. Only the female mosquitoes bite, he said.
He said Sandoval County’s efforts to combat the pest have included the larvicide and the western mosquitofish, which eats the larvae.
In response to a question from Councilor Rick Miera, Sandoval said authorities are avoiding areas where homeowners have posted signs indicating they don’t want their property fogged, as some households own beehives
He said the mosquito larvicide, if applied properly, won’t harm bees, but acknowledged the skepticism of some bee owners.
Resident Bill Perkins asked whether mosquito fogging would have an adverse effect on the pollinators in the community; Sandoval said it won’t affect them, mainly because workers apply the larvicide at night, after the pollinators are gone.
Sandoval said another pest, the biting midge, is making its presence felt. The tiny fly is also a virus vector, he said.
The midge carries the Oropouche virus, Deputy Fire Chief Tanya Lattin said, along with the Bluetongue virus and some hemorrhagic fevers that affect livestock.
Lattin said the current measles outbreak is now the largest since 2000, with New Mexico’s 95 cases second only to the 790 in Texas.
A familiar pest
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Aedes aegypti is back — and she’s bringing the same threat to Corrales residents as last year.
One of the nicknames for the insect is “Zika mosquito,” but it can also carry chikungunya, yellow fever, dengue, encephalitis and other illnesses.
Dr. Paul Sandoval, an epidemiologist with Roadrunner Health, told village councilors in Corrales Tuesday that the mosquito has been in the area for nearly two years and is proving difficult to evict.
He said the City of Albuquerque is going after the bug’s ability to reproduce, deploying a big truck that shoots a stream of larvicide into the air. It is a type of pesticide designed to kill mosquito larvae before they reach adulthood.
Sandoval said the plan is for the wind to disperse the larvicide around neighborhoods. He said the product is identical to what the village uses at ground level.
“And the idea is, this larvicide goes into everything it can — any pots, kids’ toys, whatever’s in the yard,” he said. “it doesn’t hurt anything, can’t kill anything. Doesn’t make any horses sick. Doesn’t cause any problems with people or animals.”
Sandoval said he’d like to see how the strategy works out in Albuquerque, including residents’ responses to the practice, which could leave residue on cars and windows.
“People will not be happy, but it’s one of the newest ways to fight this girl,” he said.
Sandoval told councilors that A. aegypti is more aggressive than the mosquitoes typically found in the village and behaves differently.
“She’s what we call our ‘urban mosquito,’” he said. “She likes to be among the houses. She wants to be right with everybody. The other mosquitoes, they’re out in the field. We can treat those. We can fog them. It’s easy. She’s not so easy. She’s pretty tough.”
Sandoval said A. aegypti’s behaviors include biting right below the knee and biting the same person more than once or biting multiple people in a group. Only the female mosquitoes bite, he said.
He said Sandoval County’s efforts to combat the pest have included the larvicide and the western mosquitofish, which eats the larvae.
In response to a question from Councilor Rick Miera, Sandoval said authorities are avoiding areas where homeowners have posted signs indicating they don’t want their property fogged, as some households own beehives
He said the mosquito larvicide, if applied properly, won’t harm bees, but acknowledged the skepticism of some bee owners.
Resident Bill Perkins asked whether mosquito fogging would have an adverse effect on the pollinators in the community; Sandoval said it won’t affect them, mainly because workers apply the larvicide at night, after the pollinators are gone.
Sandoval said another pest, the biting midge, is making its presence felt. The tiny fly is also a virus vector, he said.
The midge carries the Oropouche virus, Deputy Fire Chief Tanya Lattin said, along with the Bluetongue virus and some hemorrhagic fevers that affect livestock.
Lattin said the current measles outbreak is now the largest since 2000, with New Mexico’s 95 cases second only to the 790 in Texas.
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