Scientists have warned that a new invasive species of mosquitoes whose viruses contain viruses, including yellow fever, has been discovered.
The Aedes scapularis mosquitoes have been confirmed in two South Florida counties – Miami-Dade and Broward – but are now at risk of spreading along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of Florida, according to a study by Lawrence Reeves, an entomologist and research scientist. at the University of Florida.
So far, the insects have been found mainly in the Caribbean and Latin America, NPR reports.
In Brazil, they have been found to be infected with a range of diseases, such as the Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus and yellow fever virus, Reeves said.
It is unclear whether the diseases plagued by diseases actually spread the viruses they carry, but because outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases – recently dengue fever – have arisen in Florida, researchers say the discovery is important.
Lindsay Campbell, who co-authored the study with Reeves, said it was known Aedes scapularis mosquitoes like to go indoors – and they feed on game and humans.
“This is worrying because species that can transmit between animals, especially bats, and humans, create a primary condition for a dump,” Campbell told NPR.
Scientists investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic said last month that the virus most likely came from bats.
Reeves first identified Aedes scapularis in 2019 among mosquitoes he collected near Everglades National Park in southern Florida.
In a follow-up study in November 2020, Reeves found that the species was ‘established’ in the provinces of Miami-Dade and Broward.
But his new study, co-authored with Campell, suggests the mosquitoes will continue to spread north.
Reeves also noticed Aedes scapularis is one of ten new invasive species found in Florida since 2000, due to factors such as climate change, international travel, and global trade.
He predicts that more worrying species are on the way.
‘A lot of people are worried about them Aedes vittatus. [It] is a kind of vector for almost everything we are worried about: dengue, chikungunya, Zika, ”he told NPR.
Aedes vittatus is originally from India but was found just 90 kilometers south of the coast of Florida in Cuba.