Spike in Mosquito Complaints in Maricopa County Raises Health Concerns
Maricopa County is seeing an unprecedented rise in mosquito complaints this season, with the Vector Control Division recording over 6,000 reports. This marks a significant increase compared to just 1,000 complaints last year.
Officials attribute this surge to recent rainfall, which has facilitated mosquito breeding. During an appearance on PBS’s Arizona Horizon, John Townsend, the Division Manager, highlighted the presence of both daytime and nighttime-biting mosquitoes in the area.
Townsend emphasized the potential health risks posed by the nighttime mosquitoes, which are known carriers of the West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis. “West Nile, which everybody talks about, are the nighttime biting mosquitoes and they pick that virus up from the birds,” he explained.
Interestingly, Townsend noted that these nighttime mosquitoes are relatively new to the Phoenix region, having been introduced approximately 25 years ago. “Those are mosquitoes that were imported here about 25 years ago. We didn’t have them before that and they breed right in people’s backyards. They’re container breeders. They prefer human blood as their bloodmeal,” he added.
In contrast, the daytime mosquitoes pose a lesser threat and their numbers are expected to decline as nighttime temperatures drop.
Residents concerned about mosquitoes can access information and submit complaints on the division’s website.
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