New invasive mosquito species are known to carry the virus in Florida

A new invasive species of mosquito known to carry the virus, including yellow fever, has been discovered in Florida, scientists have warned.

Aedes scapularis mosquitoes have been confirmed in two South Florida counties – Miami-Dad and Broward – but are now in danger of spreading along Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts, according to a study Co-authored with Lawrence Reeves, an entomologist and research scientist at the University of Florida.

Until now, insects have been found mainly in the Caribbean and Latin America, Npr reported.

In Brazil, they have been found to be infected with “a range of diseases” such as “venueleuin encephalitis virus and yellow fever virus”, Reeves told the outlet.

It’s unclear whether the disease-causing species actually spreads the viruses they carry, but as outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases – most recently, dengue fever – have emerged in Florida, researchers say the discovery is important.

Lindsey Campbell, who co-authored the study with Reeves, said it is known that Aedes scapularis mosquitoes like to go indoors – and they feed both wildlife and people.

This is worrisome because species that are particularly capable of communicating between animals, including bats, and humans create a “prime condition for a spillover event”, Campbell told NPR.

Scientists investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic said last month that the virus was “most likely” originated from bats.

Reeves first identified Aedes scapularis in 2019, which he collected near Everglades National Park in southern Florida.

in A follow-up study in November 2020, Reeves found that the species is “established” in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

But his new study, the co-author of the campelle, suggests that mosquitoes will continue to spread in the north.

Reeves also noted that Aedes scapularis is one of 10 new invasive mosquito species that have been found in Florida since 2000 due to factors including climate change, international travel, and global trade.

He predicts that more worrisome species are on their way.

“Many people are worrying about Aedes vitetus. [It] Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika: Everything we are concerned about is like a vector.

Aedes vittetus is originally from India, but has been found just 90 miles south of the Florida coast in Cuba.