With the summer, there are more mosquitoes, the official fear, and more dengue fever

With the summer, the beginning set The mosquito seasonHealth monitoring and anti -veiled authorities are preparing for another year with historical dengue fever rates. As climate change, the absence of an effective vaccine and federal discounts in the investigation, they are concerned that the disease becomes settler in a wider strip from North America.

last year 3700 new infections By dengue fever in the United States, compared to 2050 of 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All 2024 cases were obtained abroad, with the exception of 105, in California, Florida or Texas. The Disease Control Center issued a healthy alert in March a warning of the ongoing risks of dengue infection.

“I think dengue fever came to stay,” he said. Michael Bin RaditSpecialized in infectious diseases and medical director associated with the hospital Pubai from Cedar-Sina Los Angeles, about the possibility of the new natural dengue fever in the country. “These mosquitoes will not go anywhere.”

Dengue fever is a settlement – a name appointed by public health authorities when diseases appear constantly in the region – in Many warmer areas From the world, like Latin America, India and Southeast Asia. Dengue fever cases It increased significantly Last year in many of these places, especially in Central and South America.

The disease that can spread Mosquito They carry the virus, and it was not common in the continental United States throughout the past century. Currently, most cases of dengue obtained locally (i.e. not related to travel) are registered in the country in Portorico, where a A strong increase in 2024Which sparked a local state of public health.

Most people develop dengue fever They do not get sick. However, in some, symptoms are serious: nose or mouth bleeding, severe stomach pain, vomiting and swelling. Sometimes dengue fever causes death.

California provides a guard case about the spread of dengue fever in the country. 25 years ago, It was not known The presence of AEDES AEGYPTI and AEDES Albopictus mosquitoes, which transports dengue fever, in the state. Currently, I know It was found in 25 provinces and more than 400 cities and society that were not mergedEspecially in southern California and in the center of the valley.

Steve Absher, head of mosquitoes, said that its presence increases the possibility of the disease. California Anti -Completion and Control Association in California.

Between 2016 and 2022, there were 136 new cases of dengue fever annually in California, each of which would be brought to the state by a person who traveled and wounds elsewhere. In 2023, about 250 new cases were recorded, including two locally obtained.

In 2024, California recorded 725 new dengue fever, including 18 obtained locally, according to State data.

Bin Adit said that climate change could contribute to increasing the number of mosquitoes in the population of the spring. These mosquitoes are still alive in warm urban areas, usually cut during the day. Local transport infections usually occur when someone reflects dengue fever during the trip, returns home and is evaluated by the deadly mosquitoes, which in turn, and affects someone else.

“They have spread quickly throughout California,” Ben Idrit said.

Dengue fever is a challenge to many primary care doctors who have not seen it. Bin Adit said that doctors who suspect dengue fever should get a detailed travel date for their patients, but confirmation of the diagnosis is not always quickly.

“There is no simple test to detect it,” he said. “The only test we have dengue fever is antibody tests.” “Most laboratories may not market them, so it is usually a test that must be analyzed in another installation. Therefore, it is necessary to suspect that someone suffers from dengue fever.”

Best practices to avoid dengue fever include eliminating any stagnant water on a drug, even if it is few, and the use of mosquito repellent. Reducing activity at sunset and dawn, when mosquitoes repeatedly bitten, can also help.

The efforts to combat dengue in California were complicated this year after swearing angel forest fires.

Fires occurred in a high -mosquito -transmitted diseases. San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control worked for several months to treat more than 1,400 maintenance sets that remained after the fire, thus getting rid of possible mosquito farms.

Anis Medina Diaz, a spokeswoman for the region, said that these officers used local and state resources to deal with the complexes. They requested a payment to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has historically funded the initiatives to monitor veil after forest fires.

In California, vectors monitoring agencies are usually funded with taxes and domestic fees paid by owners.

Some officials implement the new method The release of sterile mosquitoes To reduce the problem. This can be effective, but implementing the method in a large number of areas will be costly and will require a tremendous effort at the state level.

At the same time, the federal government reduces its interventions: Many media outlets have reported that national health institutes They will stop financing A new research related to climate change, which can include dengue fever.

This year, the prices of dengue fever were reported in most of the American continent It has decreased dramatically since 2024. However, it is possible that the trend in the United States does not clarify until the end of the year, after the end of the summer mosquito season.

Vectorial health and monitoring researchers are not sure of the risk of the situation in California.

Some claim that there may be limited outbreak, while others expect that dengue fever may get worse. Sujan ShreistaOther places, such as Nepal, have witnessed a few cases of dengue fever in the recent past, but now the outbreaks of large disease are registered regularly.

There is a baby vaccine, but It is stopped Because there is no global demand. Two other vaccinations are not available in the United States. SHREST Lab works hard on An effective and safe vaccine Against dengue fever. Wait for animal results in almost one year; If they are positive, human rehearsals may be possible within almost two years.

“If there is no good vaccine or a good antiviral, this will be a home to dengue,” he said.

Phillip Reese is a data report specialist and associate professor of journalism at California State University.