Latest battle in ongoing mosquito war: Zika

Perhaps the longest war humans have ever fought is the war on disease.  Now there is a new front,  approaching from the Caribbean and South America: Zika.

Many battles have focused on wiping out mosquitoes, the carriers of Yellow Fever, which killed 5,000 Philadelphians (10 percent of the city's population) in 1793. Mosquitoes also carry malaria, and along with Yellow Fever, stuck down the majority of workers building the Panama Canal until a mosquito eradication program in 1904 led by physician William Gorgas, lowered the toll of death and illness.  West Nile virus arrived on the East Coast suddenly a decade or so ago and still comes around every summer.

There have been victories. But the war is not won and may not be for a long time. Malaria still stalks much of the world population, with 214 million cases and 438,000 deaths worldwide in 2015 and about 3.2 billion people at risk, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa.  That is actually good news, since malaria death rates have fallen about 60 percent since 2000. More information is here.

And now there is a new enemy: Zika, a virus carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. It has raised alarm because of its apparent link to the births of babies with severe defects. It also may be connected to neurological and autoimmune problems such as Guillain-Barre syndrome, in which the body's immune system attacks the nervous system, leading to temporary paralysis and life-threatening breathing difficulties.  Once found in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific, Zika has now spread in South and Central America and can be found in 21 countries in the Americas. As Brazil readies for Carnival on Feb. 5 and for the Olympics, starting August 5, mosquito eradication efforts are ramping up.

What's being done here in North America? In response to the outbreak, the  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a level two alert, advising travelers to regions with the Zika virus to practiced enhanced precautions in order to avoid mosquito bites.  Advice for travelers can be found here.  The CDC also issued a statement "Interim Guidelines for Pregnant Women During a Zika Virus Outbreak," here; it recommends that pregnant women consider postponing travel to affected countries.  The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also has a statement about Zika here. Lots more information about the Zika virus can be found on the CDC website here; it is updated regularly as new information appears daily.

Thanks to Winter Storm Jonas (or Snowzilla as some call it) we don't have to worry about mosquitoes at the moment. (I'm sure that is the first thing that came to mind as you were out shoveling!) But when the weather warms you'll be hearing the warnings about taking precautions (like using mosquito repellant) and about getting rid of any standing water around where you live and repairing window screens.  Public health efforts at mosquito control include the use of pesticides and biological controls, such as breeding fish that consume mosquito larvae.  Pennsylvania has an Integrated Pest Management System in place, uniting the state's Department of Agriculture with the Pennsylvania State University College of Agricultural Science.

Concerned about biological diversity and the possible negative consequences of winning the war on mosquitoes? (No, you probably aren't).  Well, there is good news on that front as well.  According to an article in Nature in 2010, we need not worry about a world without mosquitoes. Let's attack on all fronts.

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