As mosquito season keeps buzzing away, so do serious illnesses like dengue fever, which has affected nearly three hundred Floridians this year alone.
Jenifer McBride, communications director for the Lee County Mosquito Control District, says that the disease, which is transmitted by backyard mosquito aedes aegypti, can appear innocuous at first.
“A lot of them are symptomatic as far as what you would encounter for the flu — high fever, body aches. In fact, dengue fever means breakbone fever.”
Most of this year‘s numbers are traveler’s cases — picked up while individuals are outside the United States. But some cases originate here in the Sunshine State, where heavy summer rains and standing water have made a perfect habitat for hungry mosquitoes.
But, as McBride says, there’s a few easy ways to ensure that the risk of contracting a mosquito-borne illness goes way down. She says a good first step is to regularly replace standing water, like what may be found in birdbaths, with fresh water. And, there’s more ... .
“The best thing to do is to protect yourself. So you can wear long sleeves, light-colored clothing, at dusk and dawn in particular, although mosquitoes bite all day, but that is typical mosquito time. And of course, wear repellent. That's EPA approved as the very best thing to do and then leave everything else to Lee County Mosquito Control.”
While most Floridians are well aware of these tips and tricks, they’re more important than ever to remember due to the increased risk of deadly disease — and the result of climate change on the bloodsucking insects.
“You're going to have more mosquitoes because now the mosquitoes can travel to areas they hadn't been to before. As far as southwest Florida, we're always hot and humid here. The hotter it is, the faster you're going to go through that lifecycle.”
However, McBride says one of the most important things for Floridians to remember is that Mosquito Control is working to protect them.
“We're not a pesticide company, but we are at your service to determine if the area you live in needs to be treated for something. It could be chemical, it could be biological, it could be mechanical, where we’re putting mosquito fish in. Know that we are on top of all that and let us do the hard work. Protect yourselves, but let us do the work.”
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