Experts: Calif. will see more disease-carrying mosquitoes
By Joshua Emerson Smith, Los Angeles Times
Two types of nonnative mosquitoes that can transmit potentially fatal diseases have spread throughout California, and their populations could explode come spring.
The mosquitoes’ expansion of territory was largely attributed to abnormally warm weather in the summer and fall.
“It was quicker and more widespread than any of us could have anticipated,” said Chris Conlan, an ecologist with the San Diego County Vector Control Program.
The yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) and Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) can carry diseases linked to birth defects, painful illness and tens of thousands of deaths around the world each year.