Category: Mosquito Bourne Diseases
How billions of hacked mosquitoes and a vaccine could beat the deadly dengue virus
Nature Outbreaks of dengue are killing thousands of people in South America each year and getting worse. Brazil hopes to turn the tide with a home-grown vaccine and an army of mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria. Last month, a parade of vehicles wound its way through three cities in Brazil, releasing clouds of mosquitoes into the air. […]
Sep 17, 2025
Vermont confirms state’s 1st case of Jamestown Canyon virus in humans
VT Digger The state advises protecting against mosquito bites as summer comes to a close. Vermont’s Department of Health confirmed the state’s first-known human case of the mosquito-borne Jamestown Canyon virus. The disease has relatively mild symptoms, especially for young people who do not have underlying health conditions. The state began monitoring mosquitoes for Jamestown Canyon […]
Sep 10, 2025
West Nile alert issued as two fatalities confirmed in Minnesota
Minnesota Star Tribune State is reaching peak season for risk of West Nile, the mosquito-borne virus that so far has been confirmed in 20 people and blamed for two deaths in 2025. Risk of mosquito-borne West Nile virus is increasing amid a hot and rainy summer season, the Minnesota Department of Health warned this week. […]
Aug 27, 2025
New neuroinvasive cases of West Nile detected in New Orleans.
NOLA The Louisiana Department of Health has confirmed a second human case of neuroinvasive West Nile virus in New Orleans, with a third presumptive case under investigation. In response, the city will conduct mosquito spraying Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, officials announced. While most infections are asymptomatic, West Nile can cause serious complications, particularly in […]
Aug 20, 2025
Rates of West Nile Virus increasing throughout Philadelphia region
ABC News The rates of West Nile Virus are increasing throughout the Philadelphia region. This is placing people at significant risk for the mosquito-borne illness. No one has tested positive for West Nile in Pennsylvania this year. However, officials say it has been detected in mosquitoes in nearly every Pennsylvania county. State statistics show 12 […]
Aug 20, 2025
A genetic tweak could prevent mosquitoes from transmitting malaria
NPR Each year, 263 million people get malaria. But from the parasite’s perspective, infecting humans is harder than you might think, and requires completing an epic journey within the tiny body of a mosquito. First, the mosquito must suck the blood of an individual infected with malaria — bringing the Plasmodium parasite into the insect’s gut. Then […]
Jul 23, 2025
AI is joining the fight against mosquito-borne diseases
World Economic Forum This is a new kind of mosquito trap. It was developed by scientists at the University of South Florida who say it can track the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. Giving public health officials the information they need to monitor and control outbreaks
Jul 9, 2025
As Mosquito Season Peaks, Officials Brace for New Normal of Dengue Cases
KFF Dengue Case Rates Rise in California, Florida, and Texas The number of dengue cases per million residents nearly doubled in the contiguous United States from 2023 to 2024 — and almost tripled in California. Florida’s big jump came earlier. Most cases were contracted abroad. As summer ushers in peak mosquito season, health and vector control […]
Jul 2, 2025
Illinois confirms first 2025 human case of West Nile virus
Chicago Sun Times The case this year is the earliest detection in nearly a decade. The virus carried by mosquitoes poses the greatest risk to people over 65 and the immunocompromised. A downstate resident has tested positive for West Nile virus, marking the first detection of the mosquito-transmitted disease in humans in Illinois this year […]
Jun 25, 2025
We finally may be able to rid the world of mosquitoes. But should we?
Washington Post Gene editing holds the potential of suppressing mosquito species that carry deadly diseases — and raises ethical questions. They buzz, they bite, and they cause some of the deadliest diseases known to humanity. Mosquitoes are perhaps the planet’s most universally reviled animals. If we could zap them off the face of the Earth, […]
Jun 3, 2025