When it comes to regions of the United States that are considered mosquito hotspots, most people think of Florida and/or Texas. This is understandable as both Florida and Texas saw more Zika related cases than any other state in 2017, with the exception of New York state. During Zika’s two year stint as the most terrifying mosquito-borne disease since West Nile, the states of Florida and Texas were mentioned frequently in Zika related news stories. Since both of these states are highly populated, public health information relating to mosquito bite prevention is very important. It is essential that doctors and public health officials do everything that they can to spread information relating to mosquitoes and the diseases that they carry to as many people as possible in Florida and Texas. Although Florida and Texas both saw high Zika rates among residents in 2017, four separate states exist directly in between Texas and Florida. Aren’t residents in these states also at risk for contracting mosquito borne diseases? After all, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia are all located along the mosquito-heavy Gulf Coastline. Surprisingly, these four states have not seen the same amount of Zika related troubles as both Texas and Florida have. Despite this, public health officials in Mississippi are stepping-up their anti-mosquito insecticide campaign this year.
During 2017, the state of Florida saw one hundred and seven Zika infections, which is higher than any other state. Texas saw a total of forty nine Zika cases during 2017, which is equal to California, but less than Florida and New York state, which saw sixty three Zika cases last year. However, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia never saw more than ten Zika cases, and that number includes all four states combined. However, the CDC’s website states that infected babies and those who contracted Zika through intercourse were not included in the statistics. Last year’s lack of Zika cases in these four states has not deterred officials within Mississippi’s Forrest and Lamar counties from spraying mosquito insecticides for four days out of every week. For five hours in the evening on four days out of the week Mississippi officials are spraying tons of insecticide into the environment. Luckily, this insecticide is odorless and is not harmful to humans or animals, except for mosquitoes, of course. In addition to this, several pest control professionals are treating areas of standing water with insecticides in order to halt mosquito reproduction.
Do you think that another type of mosquito-borne disease will overshadow the Zika virus during the 2018 year in America?
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