How Did Mosquitoes Get to America?
WouterDuring the American Revolution, the colonies suffered a wave of mosquito-borne diseases. One of these was malaria, which wreaked havoc on tens of thousands of settlers. Many were sickened, but some were killed. Some of these deaths were due to the diseases, while others were from natural events.
The British, French, and Spanish explorers saw an incredibly fertile continent, but they also saw people so ill. They wrote about ague, fever, and death. They also wrote about mosquitoes.
The Aedes vittatus mosquito is known to carry yellow fever and dengue. It’s also a known vector of Zika virus. The Wolbachia pipientis bacterium protects the mosquito from the virus. In 2013, the virus caused 800,000 people to be infected in 31 countries. It can also cause microcephaly in infants.
In the 1950s, the US military began researching mosquitoes in earnest. They sprayed pesticide DDT to kill them, but now it is known to be toxic to humans. The military boosted their malaria programs, which became the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They also started to deploy troops to tropical areas. They were able to reduce the number of people who were infected by mosquitoes.
As climate change continues to shorten winters in North America, mosquitoes are likely to spread farther afield. Climate scientists predict that they will move across the Caribbean and southern United States.
As they travel across the Caribbean, they are likely to be carrying Zika virus. This virus is believed to cause an increase in birth defects in Central America.
