WASHINGTON — The University of Maryland’s “Bug Guy” has some things he wants you to know about mosquitoes and the Zika virus as you wait to see if it becomes a problem here in the U.S.
Mike Raupp, a professor of entomology at the University of Maryland, said the main transmitter of the virus is the yellow fever mosquito.
“This is broadly distributed throughout tropical areas — Africa, the Caribbean, South and Central America. But it’s also in places like Florida and along the Gulf Coast, and this is the big problem.
“This is where we are concerned that Zika may first appear,” Raupp said during a live appearance on WTOP.
What many people don’t know, Raupp said, is there’s a resident population of yellow fever mosquitoes in Washington, D.C. — in a Capitol Hill neighborhood.
The more common Asian tiger mosquito also might be a good carrier of Zika in the U.S., but Raupp said we just don’t know yet.
There is something about the virus that Raupp said will work in your favor.
“Other viruses like West Nile have what we call a reservoir host,” he said. “They can go into birds, hang out in birds, and then be transmitted. That’s not going to happen with Zika.”
Because the Zika virus can cause birth defects, Raupp had a warning for women planning to travel to other countries.
“Women of childbearing age that are even considering going to places like the Caribbean, South America, Central America, they need to look at the travel advisories at the CDC website, they need to talk to their physician, and if they make this decision they certainly, certainly have to protect themselves with mosquito repellent clothing and mosquito repellents.
“In addition to this, when they return, people coming back from Zika infected areas should probably be wearing insect repellents for a couple of weeks after they get back. Nobody wants to be the Typhoid Mary, the person that brings Zika back and initiates a local transmission here.”
