Although the outbreak affected people in the New York City area, the virus could spread to other areas of the country. To most people, mosquitoes are just an annoying pest with an irritating bite. But these insects can carry serious, sometimes deadly organisms that cause diseases such as SLE and West Nile infections along with both Western and Eastern Equine Encephalitis and dengue fever. A large dengue outbreak occurred last year in Texas, with 62 cases reported, including one death. Wild birds are the principal reservoirs of mosquito-borne encephalitis viruses.
Mosquitoes feed on infected birds, then transmit the virus to humans and animals.
To detect West Nile virus, TDH will concentrate on monitoring mosquito species likely to feed on birds migrating from the northeastern United States through the Gulf Coast. Areas involved in the expanded monitoring system include Chambers, Galveston, Brazoria, Nueces, Kleberg, Kenedy, Cameron and Hidalgo counties. Harris County will have its own monitoring system. In addition, testing for West Nile virus will be included in the long-established programs in Brazos, Dallas, El Paso, Jefferson, Orange, Lubbock and Wichita counties. Also, city and county health departments, public health regions, military installations, universities and other local mosquito control programs send specimens to the TDH Lab for identification, Rawlings says.