Television station CBS 2 in New York City has produced an exclusive report on an especially nasty infestation of mosquitoes on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The biting is being done by a common variety of mosquito, Culex Pipiens Molestus. This variety of mosquito goes by the common name of the Northern House Mosquito, which clearly conveys its preferred habitat.
The reason for the sudden population explosion of Cx. Pipiens in Manhattan is unclear. The mosquito lives and breeds in the year round warmth of the New York City sewers. The rains from Hurricane Irene that deluged the city on August 28, 2011, are the most likely reason having added massive volumes of water to both the storm water and sanitary sewer systems. Cx. Pipiens is one of the few varieties of mosquito that tolerates pollution.
This mosquito is a night feeder. Only the female bites, and the blood is necessary to the mosquito’s reproductive cycle. The mosquitoes prefer dark, moist places to rest during the day.
Aside from the mosquito bites and the occasional allergic reaction, the primary medical problem from mosquitoes is the various illnesses that they can carry and transmit. Cx. Pipiens is known to carry both the West Nile Virus and St. Louis encephalitis. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued a warning on September 1 that the West Nile virus season would continue through October 31. Mosquitoes carrying the virus have been found in all five boroughs. Four cases of the potentially deadly illness have been reported in New Yorkers. New York City public health authorities also noted an alarming number of mosquitoes carrying the virus in 2010.
Experts see less risk from some tropical mosquito borne illnesses in the New York City area. The combination of a northern climate with associated human behaviors or the lack of the primary variety of mosquito that carries an illness combine to rule out major outbreaks. Dengue fever and malaria are two such.
New York City routinely sprays to kill both mosquitoes and their larva, as part of its West Nile control program. This is conducted above ground. The City also provides information about how individuals and businesses can reduce or eliminate the habitat for Cx. Pipiens through elimination of standing water where the mosquito breeds.
Mosquito borne illnesses kill over a million people world wide every year. The Manhattan infestation of Culex Pipiens Molestus may not expose New Yorkers to the deadliest of the various diseases but it points out the risks from mosquitoes. There are many mosquito carried diseases that have not reached the United States yet but if they do, there are mosquito species here that can spread them.