Elevation, an arid climate and cool temperatures have warded off mosquitoes that could carry the Zika virus to Durango, but for how long is anyone’s guess as the detested insects march north.
“I think at some point their range will expand north,” said Joe Kuefler, manager of the Animas Mosquito Control District.
The Zika virus, which has caused confusion among health experts and a high level of concern for the general public, is carried by two species of mosquitoes.
Though no mosquito-borne Zika virus cases have been reported in the United States, the two species are found in at least 30 states, raising fear about the disease’s transmission.
“New Mexico has both species, so if they expand their range, then we will be seeing them here,” Kuefler said. “That said, I don’t feel like we’re under any great threat.”
The Zika virus – first discovered in Uganda in 1947 – is nothing new, with isolated human outbreaks historically occurring in tropical climates throughout Africa, Asia and the Pacific islands.
However, only recently has the disease been linked with birth defects for babies whose mothers were infected with Zika while pregnant.
The virus is transmitted by a mosquito’s bite. The illness itself is rather mild, with some reporting fevers, rashes or joint pain. And the majority of the time, most people don’t show symptoms at all.
Yet, what’s concerning about the disease is what health officials don’t know: Is Zika linked with microcephaly, a neurological condition that causes children to be born with unusually small heads? How long can the disease stay in the human body? How is it possible to stop a massive outbreak?
And those are just some of the unknowns causing alarm in the medical world. For years, scientists didn’t believe Zika posed a threat, and as a result, virtually no money was allocated to studying it.
Similar uncertainty applies to the situation in Durango. Typically, the types of mosquitoes that can carry Zika are not found at elevations above 6,500 feet.
“So we’re kind of on that border line to that elevation,” Kuefler said. Durango sits at 6,512 feet.
Kuefler said the mosquito district traps and identifies mosquitoes on a weekly basis, and so far, none of the tested insects is from the species that carry Zika.
“But we’re seeing with climate change these populations are expanding their range,” he said. “Already, they are as far north as Albuquerque.”
Dr. Paul Ettestad, a state public health veterinarian with the New Mexico Department of Health, said New Mexico State University, with assistance from a grant, will map the range of the mosquitoes this summer. And, a newly operating lab will help recognize cases as soon as possible.
Ettestad said New Mexico health officials are working with local communities to get the message out: eliminating mosquitoes’ breeding habitat lowers the population, and therefore, lowers the risk of transmission.
“Even if you don’t have mosquitoes, you don’t want pregnant women where transmission is going on because of the potential for birth defects,” he said.
In the Unites States and its territories, 341 pregnant women are confirmed with Zika. Recently, a mother who traveled to Honduras gave birth to a baby with deformities in New Jersey.
“Colorado may have imported cases from travelers, and in these cases, those who may be infected will have to use extra precautions with domestic partners because of the possibility of sexual transmission of the disease,” said Keri McCune, San Juan Basin Health Department’s epidemiologist.
“SJBH has shared identification, testing, treatment and diagnosis information with providers in the community and will continue to do so.”
In the meantime, Kuefler said because of a dry winter and wet spring, mosquito populations were found as early as March this year – 21 days earlier than when the insect was found in past years.
Yet, he said not to worry.
The control district, which covers an area from the Animas Valley, west to Wildcat Canyon, east near Farmington Hill and as far south as Weasel Skin bridge, is hard at work.
“We’re really on the cutting edge of mosquito abatement at this point,” he said.
Mosquitoes that spread Zika, Kuefler said, like to breed in small, contained spaces, so he urged residents to take a few seconds after it rains to dump out water that may pool.
“We take care of larger areas,” he said of the nine-person mosquito district staff. “But we have 14,000 residents, and there’s no way I can compete with 14,000 yards. Together, we can completely whip this.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
