SIGHTINGS



New, Dangerous Asian
Mosquito In Connecticut
Raising West Nile Virus Fear
From Patricia Doyle <labgal_5@yahoo.com>
5-9-00

 
Hello Jeff,
 
What do you make of this AP story? Wonder how they flew all the way from Asia and landed in 35 locals around Ct? Those ole tires again?
 
The funny thing is this morning when I opened my vehicle there were a lot of mosquitos in it. I thought I had left my window open to vent it in the heat, but this morning the window was closed. Opened the unlocked door and watched the mosquitos fly from the vehicle. Strange. I did get bit on the face and legs.
 
Patty
 
 
 
Bridgeport, CT (AP) - A new mosquito from Asia has been found in 35 locations in Connecticut, causing concern that it could spread the potentially deadly West Nile strain of the encephalitis virus.
 
At least in the laboratory, Aedes japonicus-native to Japan and Korea-is even better at spreading the West Nile strain than the current carrier, Culex pipiens, commonly known as the house mosquito.
 
In Army tests at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md., japonicus was found to be the "most competent vector" for West Nile virus in a laboratory setting, when compared with other mosquitoes.
 
But whether or not it will spread the virus in the wild is not yet known.
 
"There's a difference between a laboratory vector and a real-world vector," said Michael Turell, the Army research entomologist who conducted the japonicus test.
 
For example, he said, "If it only feeds on frogs in the real world, it's not going to be important." Turell said there were indications that japonicus feeds on birds, humans and other mammals but said a real-world feeding study was necessary.
 
Last April, scientists from Connecticut announced a search across the state for japonicus after it was found on Long Island and in New Jersey. Scientists suspect the mosquito came to the Northeast in shipments of used tires from Asia. Water collects in tires, providing a good breeding site.
 
Japonicus was found in Connecticut tire dumps last summer. It has since established itself in seven of the state's eight counties, said Theodore Andreadis, chief medical entomologist for the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven.
 
Barbara Reynolds of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said gathering and testing of many mosquito species were ongoing and that only Culex pipiens has shown evidence of West Nile so far.
 
The West Nile strain was detected in New York State last year, the first documented occurrence in the Western Hemisphere. It killed seven people in New York State and made at least 62 others seriously ill.
 
Dead birds infected with the virus were found in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Most people infected with the virus suffer flulike symptoms. But the most susceptible, the very young and elderly, can suffer deadly brain swelling.

 
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