Latest apocalyptic disease-carrying vermin attacks the O.C.

From: promed@promed.isid.harvard.edu
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Asian tiger mosquito – USA (CA)
Date: September 20, 2004 11:26:58 AM PDT
To: promed-ahead-edr@promedmail.org
Reply-To: promedNOREPLY@promed.isid.harvard.edu

ASIAN TIGER MOSQUITO – USA (CALIFORNIA)

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A ProMED-mail post

ProMED mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: 20 Sep 2004
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep 2004 [edited]

Aedes albopictus in Orange County, CA
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Orange County Vector Control District investigators are searching in Orange
County for evidence of the latest pest to arrive here, the Asian tiger
mosquito (_Aedes albopictus_), which can transmit yellow fever and dengue
fever. The yard-to-yard search, which was launched after a resident
complained of a bite from an unusual-looking mosquito, has uncovered either
Asian tiger adults or larvae at 6 locations, said Russell Sipe, the
district’s project coordinator. More than 600 homes in a quarter-mile
(about 400 metre) radius are being checked. The search should conclude by
Mon or Tue [20/21 Sep 2004], Sipe said. The workers are searching standing
water for mosquitoes and taking any they find to labs for testing.

The mosquito is “very aggressive, very vicious,” said Michael Hearst, a
district spokesman. “We warn people about dawn and dusk, but this mosquito
bites during the day.” He said there is no evidence that local insects are
carrying yellow fever or dengue fever.

Many yellow fever infections are mild, but the disease can cause
life-threatening illness. Symptoms of severe infection are high fever,
chills, headache, muscle aches, vomiting and backache. Most people who
develop dengue fever recover completely within 2 weeks. Some, however, may
experience several weeks of tiredness and/or depression. Neither disease is
present in California.

Because the Asian tiger mosquito prefers to bite mammals instead of birds,
it is not considered a significant threat to spread West Nile virus. The
Asian tiger mosquito is thought to have arrived aboard a pleasure boat
towed from the south east, Hearst said.

—
ProMED-mail

[_Aedes albopictus_, popularly known as the Asian Tiger mosquito because of
its striped appearance, was 1st found breeding in the USA in 1985 in
Houston, Texas. Since then, it has gradually spread further north, to
northern New Jersey along the Atlantic coast, and to Illinois. By 2003, it
had spread to 28 US States. But this is not the first time it has been
reported from California. Larvae were found in 1971 in tires off-loaded in
Oakland from a ship from Viet Nam (see Madon MB, Mulla MS, Shaw MW, Kluh S
Hazelrigg JE. Introduction of _Aedes albopictus_ (Skuse) in Southern
California and potential for its establishment. Journal of Vector Ecology
2002; 27: 149-54).

It would be interesting to learn exactly how this mosquito arrived in
California “aboard a pleasure boat towed from the south east”.

_Ae. albopictus_ is susceptible to experimental infection with many
arboviruses, and, although it transmits dengue in south east Asia, it is
not a particularly efficient vector. But, interestingly, it was
incriminated as a vector of dengue in Hawaii in 2001. In 2000, it was found
infected with West Nile virus in Pennsylvania (see archive reference number
20001104.1922 below). In much of the USA, however, it seems more likely
that it could be a bridge vector of indigenous viruses like LaCrosse and
the equine encephalitis viruses. This mosquito is a known vector of
dirofilariasis, and so, in the USA, it could transmit _Dirofilaria_
species. – Mod.MS]

[see also:
Aedes albopictus – New
Zealand 20040530.1480
Aedes albopictus – Trinidad
(02) 20040109.0094
Aedes albopictus –
Trinidad 20040108.0083
2003
—
Aedes albopictus, vector
status 20031011.2558
Aedes albopictus – UK: alert
NOT 20031009.2533
Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, introduced – Africa 20031008.2524
2000
—
West Nile virus surveillance – USA
(46) 20001104.1922
1998
—
Dengue viruses, transmission by _Aedes albopictus_(09) 19980518.0957
Dengue viruses, transmission by _Aedes albopictus_ 19980425.0779]

………………jw/ms/msp/sh

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