Eyewitness This: Lower income neighborhoods have larger mosquitoes that may aggressively target people, transmit diseases more efficiently

Friday, October 18, 2019
Lower income urban neighborhoods may be more at risk of diseases from aggressive mosquitoes, according to new research.

More than 1,000 mosquitoes that were captured in lower income areas were bigger than those from more affluent areas and could be more efficient at transmitting diseases, a Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies-led study that was published in the Journal of Medical Entomology found. Scientists believe it's because mosquitoes can thrive in less managed neighborhoods with abandoned structures.
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With less maintenance and more garbage left outdoors, mosquitoes have more areas to breed. Researchers say the mosquitoes can transmit several viruses, including chikungunya, dengue fever, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, West Nile virus and Zika.

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