Dengue Fever - Mosquitoes Continue Flourish

Mosquitoes Continue Flourish
Reported by: Steve Linscomb
Email: SteveLinscomb@woaitv.com
Last Update: 7:25 pm

It's been several weeks since San Antonino has seen any measurable rain, but the number of mosquitoes don't seem to be tapering off much. The hot weather has even seemed to increase their numbers.

The rain San Antonio got last month from Hurricane Dolly set the area up for a mosquito haven. The moisture and the heat produced a near perfect environment for mosquito populations to grow.

"As mosquitoes continue to increase in numbers, they're certainly going to be biting a number of people," said Dr. Fernando Guerra of the Metro Health District.

That means an increased risk for different kinds of diseases being spread to humans because both mosquitoes and the seeds of disease they carry both thrive in warm weather.

"The warmer it gets, the more active they are and their metablolism doesn't slow down, so they reproduce better," said Leonard Mechler of the City Vector Control.

In addition, different species of mosquitoes tend to bloom at different times due to their life cycles and the availability of water, so the problem lingers longer.

Those different species of mosquitoes also carry different diseases.

Cases of Dengue Fever have been as close as the Texas-Mexico border.

Dengue Fever is an acute illness that pops up pretty quickly after a bite. Symptoms include headaches, fever, exhaustion, severe joint and muscle pain, swollen glands or rashes.