Mosquitoes are becoming a bigger threat, thanks to climate change. How can the U.S. keep them under control?
“The 360” shows you diverse perspectives on the day’s top stories and debates.
The facts
Mosquitoes are annoying. But for all the summer evenings mosquitoes spoil and the frantic itching their bites inspire, Americans are actually lucky that — for the most part — these insects are only annoying. Mosquitoes are responsible for approximately 700,000 deaths globally every year by spreading diseases like malaria, dengue fever and West Nile infection, earning these insects the title of the “world’s deadliest animal.”
Scientists now say rising global temperatures are making new areas of the planet, including the United States, more hospitable to the species of mosquito that carry these infections. Earlier this year, U.S. health officials found cases of locally acquired malaria for the first time in 20 years. Dengue fever may also be primed to “take off” in Southern states over the next decade, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist told Reuters last week.
Mosquito control in the U.S. isn’t the life-and-death matter it is for the most-affected parts of Africa, Asia and South America. But many disease experts say Americans now need to start taking the issue seriously to keep these dangerous viruses from gaining a permanent foothold.
“We need to really prepare countries for how they will deal with the additional pressure that will come.”Jeremy Farrar, World Health Organization chief scientist
The conversation
Some of the most effective ways to reduce mosquitoes-borne illnesses are also the simplest, but they’re useful only if people know about them and take them seriously. Health officials are working to spread the word about a strategy they call “drain and cover,” which asks Americans to eliminate pools of standing water that mosquitoes need to thrive and to cover themselves with clothing or bug spray when outside in mosquito-prone areas.
There is also a strong push for local governments in high-risk parts of the country to invest far more resources into mosquito control and programs to identify outbreaks of malaria, dengue and West Nile virus infection in the earliest stages.
With pesticides proving to be less effective over time while also creating health and environmental risks, scientists are making strides in developing a new weapon to combat these deadly diseases — the mosquitoes themselves. Experiments involving introducing specially bred mosquitoes that either can’t carry the viruses or struggle to produce biting female offspring have shown real promise, though there’s debate over how well these measures work on a large scale.
What’s next
The public health threat of mosquitoes on the African continent has increased over the past few years, partially reversing decades worth of progress that had made a huge dent in the virus’s annual death toll.
Perspectives
We need a unified, well-funded national mosquito control plan
“Mosquito abatement is locally controlled in the US, and it’s very patchy: Some Florida cities can field the equivalent of a small Air Force of sprayer planes, but elsewhere in the South, funds are thin.” — Maryn McKenna, Wired
'Drain and cover' needs to become a universally understood strategy
“Public health officials need to get everyone attuned to the reality that they should be using mosquito control.” — Aileen Marty, infectious disease expert at Florida International University, to Guardian
The best defense is a strong public health system
“We’re not that much different than other areas of the world. The difference is that we have resources to make sure that these diseases are eliminated in our area.” — Jill Weatherhead, assistant professor of tropical medicine and infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine, to Houston Chronicle
Catching outbreaks early is crucial
“Awareness is essential. Investing in a modern epidemiological surveillance infrastructure around the world will give us precious lead time to predict, detect and track emerging outbreaks. This means upgrading laboratory capacity, particularly in high-risk geographic regions, and public health data systems globally.” — Saad B. Omer, Los Angeles Times
Pesticides aren’t the answer
“Unfortunately, spraying pesticides doesn’t just kill virus-carrying species. Non-target mosquito species and other insects perish, depriving birds, bats, amphibians, and other animals a food source. Pollinator populations also suffer. Moreover, mosquitoes can become resistant to pesticides.” — Krista L. Kafer, Denver Post
The good news is we only need to defeat a few species, not all mosquitoes
“It turns out the species we’re most familiar with — the ones causing all those itchy, red bumps, as well as the more notorious diseases — are few in number.” — Ritu Prasad, CNN
Protecting people in vulnerable countries is also a great way to defend ourselves
“We should really double down on ending malaria globally. If we can take one of the biggest climate-sensitive disease risks off the table … [it would] protect us here at home.” — Martin Edlund, CEO of Malaria No More, to NPR
Keeping climate change in check will mean fewer areas will be at risk
“We must adapt to this changing climate but, more importantly, we must reduce the dangerous climate pollution warming the planet and driving these health threats.” — Anh Le, Tampa Bay Times
Even the best plan can do only so much
“Mosquitoes have been doing mosquito things for millennia, and they’re really, really good at it, despite our best efforts to keep them at bay.” — Kim Medley, ecologist at Washington University in St. Louis, to Scientific American
