It’s an all-out war as mosquito hunters search for Zika virus among others. Now, this part of Texas is a 1,777 square mile haven for disease-laden mosquitoes and other insects due to its humid climate and scattered with a large network of shallow canals that makes it an ideal breeding ground for these insects.
Mosquito control programs are not new in Harris Country, after it was plagued with an outbreak back in 1965 of St. Louis encephalitis transmitted through mosquitoes and claimed the lives of 32 people, both adults and children.
Recently, mosquito control efforts are focused on chemical spraying and foot baths on major transport terminals including airports, as well as strategic de-infestation activities throughout the county that also includes virus strains for West Nile, St Louis encephalitis and dengue.
Today, a network of some 50 scientists and technicians in the county were employed for year-round drives to prevent and keep track of such diseases to prevent another epidemic that may strike their community. In the summer, they hire additional 24 workers to step up their work as incidents are expected to increase during the season.
Apart from the spraying activities, they set mosquito traps, collect the specimens and conduct research and lab tests for what they now cover on five virus strains that added chikungunya and zika.
Their yearly budget for mosquito control is more than $4 million a year.
Their work goes beyond than simply catching and trapping these mosquitoes, as the county takes an active role in helping in research to develop vaccines and medicines to fight off these diseases.
Director for mosquito control Dr. Mustapha Debboun said that Harris County is home to some 56 varieties of mosquitoes, but only three are in constant watch due to their virus-carrying capabilities.
These varieties are the aedes aegypti or the yellow fever mosquito, the aedes albopictus also known as the Asian tiger mosquito and the culex mosquito that are carriers of the virus responsible for St. Louis encephalitis, while so far the rest are relatively harmless, according to Dr. Debboun.
Other municipalities limit their mosquito control activities to spraying, however, Harris County takes it up a notch by strategically targeting in areas where infestations are likely to occur to be able to also minimize pesticide effects on the environment.
Image Credit: Carrie Feibel/Houston Public Media
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