Mosquitos are back in full force, and AccuWeather's Bill Wadell is live reporting states that are seeing mosquito resistance to insecticides, as well as West Nile increases in humans.
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00:00 The weather isn't the only thing
00:01 and the heat isn't the only thing
00:02 that's bugging families trying to enjoy some time outdoors.
00:06 Mosquitoes are back in full force.
00:08 AccuWeather's Bill Waddell is live this morning,
00:11 but Bill, there are some serious health risks
00:13 experts are worried about.
00:15 - Yeah, that's right, Ari, Christina, good morning to you.
00:19 There are researchers telling us
00:21 that there's a growing number of reports coming in
00:23 of states where they're seeing
00:26 mosquito resistance to insecticides.
00:28 That's the stuff that crews use,
00:31 city governments, even businesses,
00:33 they bring in those trucks or those big backpacks
00:35 and they spray mosquito hotspots
00:37 trying to kill not just the bugs, but their eggs as well.
00:41 And we've also been hearing from researchers at Mayo Clinic
00:44 and they tell us that West Nile virus in humans
00:47 is a big health concern right now.
00:48 Dr. Bobby Pritz says,
00:50 "Some people bit by an infected mosquito
00:52 "may have no symptoms, but others,
00:55 "they may have fever, headache, body aches, and rashes.
00:59 "Fatigue or other health issues could last for days,
01:02 "sometimes even months."
01:04 - Mosquito that's most commonly implicated
01:08 is the Culex mosquito,
01:11 different than the Anopheles mosquito
01:13 that transmits malaria.
01:14 West Nile virus infection is usually diagnosed
01:18 by detecting antibodies in a patient's blood sample.
01:23 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Arbonet
01:26 are reporting 90 human cases of West Nile virus in 17 states.
01:31 Arizona, Texas, and South Dakota
01:33 are at the top of the list right now.
01:35 Now, the best advice to avoid mosquito bites,
01:38 the experts tell us, wear long sleeves, wear pants,
01:41 and of course, Ari, to use this repellent
01:44 that has D in it to try to keep the bugs away.
01:47 And coming up in our next hour,
01:49 we're gonna have a closer look
01:50 at how some of the weather trends
01:51 have extended the mosquito season
01:53 in many parts of the country.
01:55 I'm just glad we're not dealing with the bugs
01:56 out here this morning.
01:57 We got lucky.
01:58 - Yeah, we did.
01:59 And Bill's spent plenty of time in Texas,
02:01 and things are true.
02:02 Everything's bigger in Texas, including the bugs.
02:04 Bill, thank you so much for that report.