West Nile virus has claimed its first death in California

[CVX]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- West Nile virus has claimed its first death in California, evidence of the disease's unrelenting march across America since entering the country through New York City five years ago.



State health officials say a 57-year-old Orange County man, who was being treated for encephalitis since mid-June, died on June 24.



"We knew that the virus had reached California, but this is the first real evidence of a more intense transmission. Now we basically have transmission of the West Nile virus from coast to coast," Dr. Ned Hayes, a medical epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Reuters.



California health officials, who did not identify the man killed in June, said the disease had been detected for the first time in eight other counties and that 35 people across the state have tested positive for West Nile.



"The loss of this man is a sad reminder of the seriousness of West Nile virus," Dr. Richard Jackson, California's public health officer, said in a statement. "Although the risk of serious illness is low, I urge residents to take steps now to protect themselves from mosquito bites and this virus."



West Nile virus was first detected in America in New York City in 1999, most likely arriving in an infected person or bird on an airplane from another country. Hayes said the virus most closely resembles a strain that had been circulating in Israel in 1998.



Since then, the mosquito-borne disease has spread quickly throughout the United States, resulting in serious outbreaks further and further west.



"While the virus has been moving across the country for the last 5 years the intensity has also moved westward," Hayes said. "But there is continued transmission in eastern areas, as well, where it was first detected, so it looks like the virus is not going away, and it's still something that needs to be dealt with for the foreseeable future."



Hayes said that with elimination of the virus unlikely, the CDC was focused on trying to control its spread. Americans were advised to avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes were most active -- generally in the two hours after dusk -- to use insect repellent and to eliminate standing water.



About 80 percent of people infected with West Nile virus develop no symptoms. The remaining 20 percent suffer the acute onset of fever, headache and muscle and joint aches. About 1 percent of victims contract a sever neurological disease, such as meningitis or encephalitis.





http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtm ... ID=5761579

[pattybug52]

In Calif as of Sept 8 we have had 12 deaths. I live in Orange County and some cities down here-Fullerton for one have hundreds of dead birds laying around. The Vector Control and West Nile Virus people have stopped picking up the birds in Fullerton. I work in Anaheim-where Disneyland is and we had a couple dead crows in parking lot-took them 4 days to come remove them. It has become so frequent now-dead birds-no one is bothering to pick up-actually the dead bird cannot pass the virus-only the mosquito that bites it.

[pattybug52]

they just found a new mosquito-Asian Tiger Mosquito in Orange County Calif which carries Yellow Fever and Dungue Fever-think it came in from a ship from asia-now vector control is going nuts trying to irradicate.

[pattybug52]

Flying 'tigers' return to O.C.

Asian mosquitoes are known to bite humans during daylight hours and can spread yellow and dengue fevers.



By PAT BRENNAN

The Orange County Register

ORANGE – A new, "vicious" mosquito species has appeared in Orange County, worrying the county's mosquito-control agency and prompting urgent efforts to wipe out the pest before it becomes established.

The Asian tiger mosquito, found in the Orange-North Tustin area last week, prefers to attack mammals, including humans. It bites aggressively and during the day, unlike other mosquito species common to Orange County.

The mosquito, which might have arrived on a pleasure boat towed here from the southeastern United States, can spread yellow fever and dengue fever, although neither disease is known to be present in California.

Oddly, the mosquito is not believed to have much effect on the spread of West Nile virus. Its preference for mammals means it is unlikely to pick up West Nile, which mosquitoes usually acquire from birds.

"We're going to catch it," said Michael Hearst, spokesman for the Orange County Vector Control District. "This is not something we want."

A vector control technician knew immediately that he might have a problem when he noticed, during a routine service call, that he was being bitten by mosquitoes during the day. Mosquito species known to live in Orange County bite mainly at dawn or dusk.

The technician, John Drews, set up a trap and caught two Asian tiger mosquitoes.

"That sent shock waves through the place," Hearst said of his agency in Garden Grove, because of the mosquito's fierce reputation.

More mosquitoes were trapped; the species is so aggressive that Drews was able to capture several by sucking them into a hose from his arm.

The agency is surveying the area of Yorba Street and Fairhaven Avenue to try to determine the extent of the infestation. Once they have an estimate of its size, technicians will go door-to-door, treating yards and homes to kill mosquito larvae.

The Asian tiger mosquito has not been found anywhere else in the county.

Left unchecked, the imported pests could turn Orange County, where complaints of mosquito bites are rare, into a much itchier, scratchier and bumpier place.

Since it was found in Texas in 1985, the mosquito has become established in at least 26 states, and it is prevalent in the Southeast, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hearst called the mosquito "vicious" but also "beautiful" because of its stripe-like markings.

It can spread more effectively than other mosquitoes because of a reproductive trick: If its eggs dry out, they simply go dormant until immersed again in water.

An outbreak of the mosquito in Orange and Los Angeles counties was stamped out in 2001. In that case, the mosquitoes arrived in shipments of "lucky bamboo," popular in Asian markets and nurseries. Shipping practices were changed to eliminate the mosquitoes.

Although Vector Control officials suspect the new outbreak came from the towed boat, it also might be a remnant from the previous outbreak, Hearst said.

CONTACT US: (714) 796-7865 or pbrennan@ocregister.com

[pattybug52]

Ferocious Tiger Mosquito Invades the United States ABCNews.comJuly 30, 2001 For those folks who live in the far north and find some comfort in the idea that the planet is getting warmer, here's a bit of bad news: Hordes of nasty mosquitoes may be heading your way. Ever since it was accidentally introduced into the United States in the 1980s, the Asian tiger mosquito has expanded its range faster than a prairie fire and it now makes its home throughout the southeastern states. And now researchers have shown it only takes a slight increase in temperature for these ferocious little biters to propagate like overzealous bunnies. An Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus) Feeding The infestation and subsequent establishment of Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, into the Americas occured through the worldwide transport of used tires. Aedes albopictus is associated with the transmission of dengue, eastern equine encephalitis and dog heartworm, and potentially with St. Louis and LaCrosse encephalitis viruses. Image courtesy of WHO/The Wellcome Trust More NewsAdventure & ExplorationArchaeology & PaleontologyKids NewsAnimals & NatureScience & TechnologyPeople & CultureThe EnvironmentTravel National Geographic Channel Special SeriesEmerging Explorers TravelWatch National Geographic Out There Oceans Pulse of the Planet Barry Alto, a doctoral candidate in entomology at the University of Florida, and Steven Juliano, a biology professor at Illinois State University, kept three groups of Asian tiger mosquitoes at different temperatures—79, 75, and 72 degrees Fahrenheit (26, 24, and 22 degrees Celsius). The goal of the research, which was done while Alto was finishing up his masters degree at Illinois State, was to see how the little pests performed at different temperatures. "We were able to show that populations at higher temperatures had extremely high rates of population increase, and that the population increased very rapidly initially," Alto says. "That's important because according to population dynamic theory, organisms are better able to get a foothold in new sites when they grow really quickly right in the beginning." Unknown Consequences of Global Warming In other words, critters have a lot better chance of surviving if they propagate like mad as soon as they arrive in a new territory. The research, published in the July 18 issue of the Journal of Medical Entomology, underscores a basic challenge facing scientists today. Many serious consequences of global climate change may have little to do with inundated beaches from sea-level rise—the most frequently cited result of global warming. It's likely there will be many changes, and many surprises, if the planet's weather changes as much over the coming years as many experts predict. For example, take the Asian tiger mosquito. Please. This is a really nasty little bug that is capable of transmitting serious diseases, according to research in various labs. It hasn't happened so far in the United States, as far as we know, but the research shows the tiger can be a successful bearer, or "vector," of such diseases as LaCrosse encephalitis, yellow fever, and dengue fever. Dinner in the Daytime It's smaller than most mosquitoes, but its bite causes more irritation than most, and it dines throughout the day, not just at night. It's especially aggressive during its feeding frenzy. And if it lands on you, the bug is so fast it's probably going to inflict its damage and get away before you have a chance to swat it. The tiger looks so different that it's easily identified by even the casual observer. It's black with white stripes, thus its name. And it is on the move, big time. The first wave of the invasion began in Houston in 1985 when some of the mosquitoes hatched out of eggs believed to have been transported to this country from Asia in old tires bound for recycling. In about a year it was already in Jacksonville, Florida, and "within the next eight years it had spread to every county in Florida," Alto says. Within two decades it was firmly entrenched as far north as Pennsylvania and the upper Midwest. The tiger's lifestyle helped facilitate that rapid migration. Tigers are known as "container breeders," meaning they don't need a nice lagoon to bear their young. Instead, they prefer smaller pockets of moisture, like holes in trees that collect rainwater. In fact, any container will do, especially old tires because they are so good at retaining moisture, according to Phil Lounibos, professor of entomology at the University of Florida, who has spent several years researching the mosquito. That affinity for small containers made the tiger especially adaptable to human society, because we always seem to be leaving something around that collects a little rainfall and makes a perfect habitat for zillions of mosquito eggs. Mosquitoes Hitch Rides With Humans The population of tiger mosquitoes just "took off," Lounibos says, "partly because of its ability to hitch rides with human transport systems." So when some community in the South collected its old tires and sent them off somewhere else for recycling, they most likely sent along an uninvited guest. Until the research by Alto and Juliano, it had been thought that the tiger's range would be limited, but it now appears that if current warming trends continue, that range could be expanded, possibly even into Canada, Alto says. In areas where it has become firmly established, Lounibos says, the tiger has displaced the most common mosquitoes found in those areas. That could prove unfortunate because the tiger is likely to be far harder to get rid of than many other mosquitoes. Since it prefers some sort of a container, like an old tin can or a hole in a tree, for its birthing area you can't eradicate it by simply draining water out of a swamp. "Control is difficult because a percentage of the population still deposits its eggs in the natural containers that formed the major habitat for its ancestors," concludes a research paper from Rutgers University. It might help to get rid of tin cans and old tires "but gaining access to larvae that are developing in treeholes is an almost impossible task," the report says. However, it doesn't look like the tiger will take over the whole country. Additional research by Alto and Juliano, which will be published in a couple of months, shows that the tiger doesn't mind the heat, as long as it's moist. But it can't stand the heat if it's dry. That's probably why the first wave of mosquitoes to leave Texas headed east to humid Florida instead of west to arid Arizona. But chances are more of the country will become palatable to them if it does indeed become warmer and wetter. Maybe they'll even make it up to Alaska, where the mosquito is the unofficial state bird.