Behind the recent surge in local local transmission of dengue fever in Southern California, fighting invasive mosquitoes is being fought – officials may have unlocked a powerful tool to help win the day.
Two vector control areas – local agencies responsible for controlling disease organisms – have released thousands of sterile mosquitoes in some communities, one area began in 2023 and the other year.
The idea is to expel the mosquito population, because the females do not hatch the eggs produced after the sterile males. And only female mosquitoes bite people, so the released males do not cause the spread of diseases such as dengue, a potentially deadly viral infection.
So far, the data is encouraging.
An institution serving blockbusters in Los Angeles County found its invasiveness decreased by nearly 82% Egypt Egypt Compared with the control area, the mosquito population in its released area was in Sunland-Tujunga last year.
Another area covers the southwest corner of San Bernardino County, with several places that released sterile men, an average of 44% lower than the level before the intervention compared to the level before the intervention.
Overall invaded mosquito populations fell by 33% across the region, the first time that population has declined rather than increased in about eight years.
“We're not only going out on the spot, we actually saw a good decrease, but we're getting fewer calls – people calling for complaints.”
But there are still challenges. Extending interventions to the levels needed to create dents for a wide range of areas in the Los Angeles County area will not happen overnight and potentially require their homeowners to pay up to $20 in their annual property tax assessment to achieve this goal.
Climate change allows Eds Mosquitoes and the diseases they spread – enter new areas and drive into revelers where they are established.
Soaring and widespread abroad Eds Dr. Aiman Halai, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Vector Transmission Diseases Division, said mosquitoes at home “create the perfect recipe for local transmission in our area.”
A small disaster, a great threat
Egypt Egypt Mosquitoes were first discovered in California about a decade ago. Originally from Africa, the species can spread dengue as well as yellow fever, Zika and Chikungunya.
Another invasive mosquito, Ades White Pupictusarrives earlier, but its number drops, and it is unlikely to spread diseases such as dengue.
Although black and white stripes Egypt Egypt Can't fly far–about 150 to 200 yards–they managed to walk around. More than one-third of California, including Shasta County in the far north, is more than one-third.
one Eds Mosquitoes are known for their ankle biting and prefer to bite people over animals. Insects that arrived in California about a decade ago could spread diseases such as dengue and Zika.
(Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control Area)
Eds Mosquitoes like to bite people – usually in rapid succession multiple times. As insects spread throughout the state, patios and backyards have gone from breathing places to risk territory.
However, it is difficult to prove that the bugs are poured into the bug. They can place eggs in tiny water sources. They might put some on the plant tray, maybe in the drain. Extinction of invaders is not easy when it is difficult to find all breeding sites or visit all yards where breeding is rampant.
This is one of the reasons why releasing sterilized males is attractive: they are naturally good at finding their own species.
Mosquitoes and mosquitoes
Releasing sterilized male insects to fight pests is a proven science and technology that has been around since the 1950s, but using it to control invasive mosquitoes is relatively new. This approach appears to be being adopted in Southern California.
The West Valley region pioneered the release of sterilized male mosquitoes in California. In 2023, the Ontario-based agency expanded its pilot program the second year. This year, it is increasing the number of sites being processed.
The Greater Los Angeles County Media Control District launched its own pilot effort in 2024 and plans to target roughly the same area this year, with improved technology and insect cultivation capabilities.
Starting in late May, Orange County will be scheduled to release 100,000 to 200,000 sterile male mosquitoes per week in Mission Viejo as of November. The Coachella Valley district is developing its own plan, which could stand out next spring.
Media officials in Los Angeles and San Bernardino County said residents were asking when they could bring a group of men who were hit nearby. But experts say that for large population centers, this is not easy.
“I just responded to one of our residents this morning and they said, 'Why can't we do this everywhere this year?' Of course, it's because Rome wasn't built in one day.” Susan Crew, general manager of the Vector Control District of Greater Los Angeles County, Greater Los Angeles County.
The Kluh area has a budget of nearly $24 million, responsible for nearly 6 million residents in 36 cities and non-individual areas. The West Valley budget for this fiscal year is about $4 million, and the region serves approximately 650,000 people in six cities and surrounding areas.
The approach differs between the two regions, partly due to the scale of their cooperation with them.
West Valley targets the so-called hot spots – areas with particularly high mosquito populations. Last year, it released about 1,000 sterile men every two weeks before the peak of the mosquito season. The area then hit 3,000 locations at some locations during peak August to November. The idea is to go over 100 to 1 wild male, the program's equipment costs about $200,000, and the area employs a full-time employee to assist the work for $65,000.
Solomon Birhanie, West Valley science director, said the area has no resources that attack large swathes of land, so it is using it that it does have effective resources. He said focusing on problem sites is enough to impact the entire service sector.
“Now many medium to smaller regions are interested in using our approach because there is now evidence that it can incorporate it into emission reduction plans “without hiring highly skilled people or requiring a large budget,” he said. ”
Solomon Birhanie, the science director of the West Valley Mosquito and Vector Control Area, watched a container of mosquito larvae in the lab in March 2024. Headquartered in Ontario Eds Mosquitoes in California.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
In the first study last year, Los Angeles County released an average of 30,000 men per week in two Sunland-Tujunga communities between May and October, trying to surpass wild men 10 to 1. Kluh expects pilots to spend about $350,000 this year.
To bring the program to a larger area of the area, Kreu said more funds are needed — officials propose up to $20 a year for single-family homes each year. This will be a supplement to the $18.97 area homeowners now pay for services the agency already offers.
Kluh said that if the sample to the owner is sent to the new alleged sample, it will vote in the fall under Proposal No. 218 requirements.
There are five carrier control areas covering Los Angeles County. The Greater Los Angeles County is the largest district, from San Pedro to Santa Clarita. It covers most of the city in Los Angeles, except for coastal areas, and does not serve San Gabriel or the Antelope Valley.
Galvanized by disease
Last year, California had 18 locally acquired dengue cases, meaning people were infected with the virus in their communities, not on travel.
Fourteen of these cases were in Los Angeles County, with at least seven related to a small outbreak at Baldwin Park, and a city east of the Los Angeles case also appeared in Panorama City, El Monte and Hollywood Hills.
The year before that, the state confirmed its first local case in Long Beach and Pasadena.
Although most people with dengue are asymptomatic, it can cause severe body aches and fever, and in rare cases it can lead to death. Its alias “Breakbone Fever” makes you feel serious about how you feel.
According to Halai, one-third of dengue cases in Los Angeles County last year required hospitalization.
After the mosquito bites a person, the mosquito picks up the virus and then spreads it by biting others.
Hope and hard truth
Mosquito control experts hailed sterilization as it does not involve spraying chemicals, and officials may use it to target other disease spreaders (such as locals in the area) Culex Mosquitoes, a vector of the deadly West Nile virus.
New technologies continue to be launched. Last summer, California Pesticide Regulations approved male mosquitoes using specific strains, called Volbach. The eggs that these males fertilized will not hatch either.
Despite promising innovations, some aspects of the scourge violate local controls.
Crew said the insect season has been extended since she started mosquito control in California as winter changes. At that time, officials will be working in late April or early May and end around early October. Now, local mosquitoes appear as early as March, and invasive insects can last until December.
“If things are going, we can only always be in dengue,” she said.
Last year was the worst year for registered dengue fever worldwide, with more than 13 million cases reported in the Americas and the Caribbean, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Many countries are still reporting above-average dengue numbers, meaning travelers have more opportunities to take them home.
