An Invasive Disease-Carrying Mosquito Has Spread to the Rocky Mountains

"This mosquito species is native to tropical and subtropical climates, but as climate change pushes up temperatures and warps precipitation patterns, the Aedes aegypti-which can spread Zika, dengue, chikungunya and other potentially deadly viruses-is on the move. It's popping up all over the Mountain West, where conditions have historically been far too harsh for it to survive. In the last decade, towns in New Mexico and Utah have begun catching Aedes aegypti in their traps year after year,"

"The city, with a population of about 70,000, is the largest in Colorado west of the Continental Divide. In 2019, the local mosquito control district spotted one wayward Aedes aegypti in a trap. It was odd, but the mosquitoes had already been found in Moab, Utah, about 100 miles to the southwest. Moore, the district manager, figured they'd caught a hitchhiker and that the harsh Colorado climate would quickly eliminate the species."

Aedes aegypti, a mosquito species that prefers human blood and can transmit Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever, has established a thriving population in Grand Junction, Western Colorado. The species historically occupied tropical and subtropical regions but has expanded into the Mountain West as rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns create suitable conditions. Agencies in New Mexico, Utah and Idaho have recorded repeated detections in the past decade. Local surveillance spotted a single mosquito in 2019 and initially assumed it was transient, but subsequent findings indicate local persistence. The species' stealthy behavior and disease potential pose increased public health and vector-control challenges.

Read at WIRED