Entries Tagged 'Mosquito News' ↓

Officials confirmed today that eight more batches of mosquito samples in western San Bernardino County tested positive for West Nile virus and said there was an alarming increase in human transmission this week. 

“This dramatic increase in positive samples is a great concern. The current weather trends are very conducive to mosquito breeding, and we fear that people are becoming complacent about mosquito prevention and self protection because of last year’s decline in West Nile virus cases and the relatively late start to high mosquito breeding this year.”  source

Tulane University researchers are using mosquitoes’ motherly instincts against them to develop a novel mosquito trap to fight the spread of dengue fever. Researchers are deploying small devices with just the right mix of chemicals to convince the disease-carrying mosquitoes they’ve found the perfect place to lay their eggs.

But once they fly into this lethal maternity ward, there’s no getting out alive.

“After malaria, dengue is the most important mosquito transmitted disease in the world and is a major cause of disease and death in the tropics,” says Dawn Wesson, associate professor of tropical medicine at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. “Right now there has really been nothing that can be safely used on a wide, multinational scale to reduce dengue transmission. If this trap works, we think it can change a lot of people’s lives.”   Read More

Medical experts at a seminar held in Islamabad on Wednesday called for taking preventive measures to fight dengue virus. “Dengue infection is here to stay and its patients will increase in number unless breeding places for mosquitoes are eliminated” said Dr Arroj, Director Health of Capital Development Authority.

The virus is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito and the best way to eliminate mosquitoes is to eliminate breeding places. Attendees were given the message that the use of sprays, mosquito repellants and mosquito traps are the only ways to prevent dengue viral fever.

Many know that mosquito bites may be very dangerous, as they can transmit serious diseases, particularly if you have pets and kids. In fact, you are able to lower the risk of getting infected by following several simple rules.

• Use modern means against mosquitoes.

Now new technologies are evolving, providing you with lots of innovations like mosquito traps, which can control mosquitoes outdoors. They work by luring insects into a special container and trap them till death, so that you could enjoy outdoor activities without fear.     Read more

Mosquito traps, as well as reports from residents, suggest that the mosquito season is not quite over for Western Placer County.  Hotter temperatures coinciding with seasonal mosquito behavior create ongoing mosquito problems in areas of North Lincoln and West Roseville, prompting the Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District to respond with ground-based mosquito treatments.

2010 Placer County West Nile virus activity update: 7 dead birds, 3 sentinel chickens, 34 mosquito samples, and 3 humans have tested positive for West Nile Virus to date .  The District has scheduled ground-based adult mosquito treatments for the early morning of October 1st.

Read more

CHILDREN as young as 10 are being trained to be dengue busters, collecting and studying the mosquitoes that spread the potentially life-threatening disease.

Queensland Health, James Cook University and Cairns Regional Council are testing a dengue fever education campaign in Cairns schools, in an attempt to raise awareness of the disease from an early age.

As part of the project, students in years 5 to 7 are taught how to safely collect Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, breed them, and observe and record their life cycle, before disposing of the insects.

Education Queensland regional science manager Adam Hooper said there was no danger of catching dengue from the studies.  Read more @ http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2010/03/23/101191_local-news.html

Here’s a mosquito trap that may rightfully be called sexist.  

The “MozziQuit”, developed by Ignatius Noronha, a Mangalore based innovator, attracts and kills female mosquitoes to stop them from breeding.

Noronha was working for an American manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia until he set upon his new mission of developing a cost effective device to kill mosquitoes.

Explaining the science behind attracting mosquitoes, he said, “Mosquitoes normally detect human presence based on the carbon dioxide we exhale. 

There is a special additive I have added to the device, which attracts the mosquitoes.”

Read more  http://www.ptinews.com/news/495138_Eco-friendly-mosquito-traps-to-hit-markets-soon

Washington, (IANS) Researchers have come up with the cheapest and most efficient way so far to trap adult mosquitoes and the deadly diseases they carry, from malaria to the West Nile Virus.

Emory University (E-U) has filed a provisional patent on the Prokopack mosquito aspirator, which uses a battery-powered motor to suck up live mosquitoes for analysis.

In both field and lab tests, Prokopack outperformed the current gold standard for resting mosquito surveillance – the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Backpack Aspirator (CDC-BP).

Mosquito-borne diseases rank among the world’s top killers, and Vazquez-Prokopec, inventor and a post-doctoral researcher in environmental studies, hopes that more affordable and efficient surveillance methods will help save lives.  Read more @ http://www.india-forums.com/news/article.asp?id=221748

According to Elizabeth (Biz) Collins of the North Fork Mosquito Abatement District, it’s almost unheard of to have an all-volunteer trapping program. But that is exactly what was accomplished this past season in the North Fork, and hopefully with more volunteers, can be expanded next season.

Volunteer have to set out the traps and pick them up at specific times. The traps, due to the life of the batteries, need to be set out between 5 and 7 p.m. and picked up between 7 and 8 the next morning. If the traps are picked up late or set out too early, the batteries fail and the mosquitoes can escape making the sample useless.

Trappers donate their time, cars and gas. They receive no reimbursements for their work. After the crew was laid off for the season due to a shortfall in tax revenue, the district had their first case of mosquitoes with West Nile Virus.

The volunteer program has grown from two people in 2008 to eight volunteers by the end of that season. In 2009 up to 13 people volunteered. For 2010, the volunteer program is aiming to grow to 20 people.