Mosquito programs across the U.S. have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic just as the season for the flying disease vectors kicks into full gear, by annabarryjester LaurenWeberHP UnderfundedUnderThreat Khnews AP series
to confront the coronavirus pandemic, let alone the other work like mosquito control they are tasked to handle at the same time. Over 38,000 public health worker jobs have been lost since 2008. Per capita spending on local health departments has been cut by 18% since 2010.enough of a workforce to address a once-in-a-generation pandemic, they’re being pulled from normal mosquito-related tasks.
Even with limited testing to measure the problem and relatively low rates of disease so far this year, there are worrying signs. Fourteen people in the Florida Keys have come down with locally acquired dengue, which can cause fever, severe body aches and vomiting. Massachusetts has found its first mosquito carrying Eastern Equine Encephalitis, which kills approximately a third of people infected, according to the CDC.
“I wonder which cases are going to be missed as everyone is going to expect COVID and then move on when they test negative,” she said. And while public health officials say small outdoor gatherings are safest when it comes to avoiding exposure to the coronavirus, some worry that the risk of acquiring mosquito-borne diseases could rise.
Stopping mosquitoes requires getting information in real time. If a mosquito is carrying West Nile Virus, “you want to know that today, not two weeks from now,” Brown said.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
EU health body considering airborne spread of virus as well as dropletsThe EU's public health body is assessing risks posed by ventilation systems and other settings at workplaces for the transmission of the novel coronavirus through the air, in addition to through droplets, its head said.
Read more »
Obama Warns Virus ‘Doesn’t Care About Spin Or Ideology’Obama urges Americans to “deal with our public health crisis” as Trump insists that the virus “will disappear.”
Read more »
Trump Administration Orders Hospitals To Bypass CDC, Send COVID-19 Data To WashingtonThe Trump administration has ordered hospitals to send data on COVID-19 patients directly to the Department of Health and Human Services, bypassing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Read more »
Florida hospitals face ICU bed shortage as state passes 300,000 COVID-19 casesMore than 77,000 cases were logged just in the last seven days, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Read more »
Florida hospitals face ICU bed shortage as state passes 300,000 COVID-19 casesFlorida has now seen more than 300,000 cases of COVID-19 reported since the start of the pandemic. More than 77,000 cases were logged in the last 7 days.
Read more »
Hospitals told to send coronavirus data to Washington, not CDCThe Trump administration has ordered hospitals to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and send all Covid-19 patient information to a central database in Washington beginning on Wednesday. The move has alarmed health experts
Read more »