Mosquitoes, Quickly Becoming Public Enemy No. 1

What’s your worst nightmare? Is it being chased and not being able to run fast enough? Maybe it’s falling continuously without being able to stop. Or maybe it’s having to worry about multiple serious mosquito-borne illnesses being spread throughout your area all at the same time. While the first two may only be worrisome until you’ve woken up, the third is a real possibility and not just a bad dream you can wake up from with just a pinch.

You may not have heard of the Zika virus as it was, until recently, confined to a small strip of Africa & Asia along the equator. Having since spread to South and Central America, Zika has caused some previously rare birth defects in Brazil and has been linked to over 3,500 cases of microcephaly, disease-causing infants to be born with small heads and immature brain development. In a recent USA Today article, it was revealed that spread of Zika virus, by the mosquito species known as the Aedes, is not the only dangerous disease to be spread by such mosquitoes as Dengue and Chikungunya have been spreading throughout the western hemisphere as a result of the same species in places such as Hawaii, where Dengue fever has already infected over 200 people.

Experts such as Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and co-author of a new report in The New England Journal of Medicine, have begun warning of the eventual possibility of America being faced with multiple simultaneous mosquito-borne virus outbreaks within its borders. Still attempting to determine the connection, researchers have found that numerous Zika outbreaks, spread by the Aedes mosquito, tended to closely follow epidemics of Chikungunya.

With modern medicine still being unable to supply a solution to such viruses, researchers have been attempting to develop drugs that treat entire classes of viruses, as antibiotics remain completely ineffective. Thankfully, Sanofi Pasteur has successfully developed a vaccine for Dengue. While you can never be too careful, with natural protection against more severe outbreaks in the form of the nations' health, and access to air conditioning, we have a fighting chance at protecting ourselves against such diseases. And while being able to stay safe and comfortable inside our homes is a benefit, isn’t it time you looked into taking your family’s protection a step farther?

Mosquito Squad of Chicago is a mosquito control services company that provides professional mosquito extermination in the Chicago land area. Give us a call at (630) 556-8315 to find out how we can help you with your mosquito problem.