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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – TUCSON, Ariz. – With concern growing over a potential epidemic related to the Zika virus, a researcher from the University of Arizona has defined probable danger zones in the United States.
ResearcherKacey Ernst, PhD, MPH,associate professor and infectious disease epidemiologist at the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health,said the mapping of these regions is based on three environmental conditions: 1) high densities of mosquitos capable of transmitting the virus; 2) period of time mosquitos are infectious; and 3) high rates of mosquitos feeding on humans.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is spreading the Zika virus in Latin America and the Caribbean, is expected to increase across much of the southern and eastern United States as the weather warms, according to a recent study led by mosquito and disease experts at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the UA.
See Figure 4 (page 14) for the best estimate of potential range of mosquitos that could transmit the Zika virus, according to the study. This does not mean that all areas will be affected, nor does it mean all other areas are guaranteed safe. Mosquito monitoring and surveillance in the U.S. is not consistent across jurisdictions, said Dr. Ernst.
The study results are a step toward providing information to the broader scientific and public health communities on the highest risk areas for Zika emergence in the United States, she said, but more research is needed to determine which varieties of mosquitos are infectious and for how long, and whether the virus can survive in eggs the following year.
Dr. Ernst spoke before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Subcommittee on Research and Technology, in Washington, D.C., on May 25.
Video and transcript of her testimony can be viewed at: https://science.house.gov/
Mosquito experts recommend removing standing water to help eliminate breeding grounds in addition to the following guidelines offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: wear insect repellant, cover up and keep mosquitos outside.
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