Mosquitos may bring flu-like illness to Tucson

Charles C. Labenz Arizona Daily Wildcat The mosquito population in Arizona has increased and it is the residents' responsibility to reduce the numbers. The mosquito-transmitted disease known as Dengue (pronounced DEN-gay), which was a problem last summer in Hermosillo, Sonora, may become a problem for Arizona this summer.

A mosquito-transmitted disease known as Dengue (pronounced DEN-gay), which caused 400 cases of Dengue fever last summer in Hermosillo, Sonora, 150 miles south of Tucson, could move into Arizona this summer, said Henry Hagedorn, a professor of entomology at the University of Arizona.

Hagedorn will discuss mosquito control and Dengue prevention Saturday in a symposium at University Medical Center's DuVal Auditorium from 1 to 3 p.m.

Dengue is spread through the Aedes aegypti, an urban-dwelling mosquito that doesn't require a lot of water to breed, Hagedorn said.

Once the eggs are laid, he said the water can dry out for an entire summer and the mosquito will still survive.

Hagedorn said the local mosquito population "mushroomed" in 1995-96 for reasons scientists don't understand.

Dengue has already crossed the border through mosquitoes in Texas, and Hagedorn said it is just a matter of time before it shows up in Arizona.

Once the infection enters the local mosquito population, Arizona health officials expect to see an outbreak of Dengue cases, said Dr. Eskild Petersen, a UA professor of medicine.

Symptoms of the disease are much like those of severe influenza, such as high fever and muscle aches, Petersen said.

"It will basically hurt all over," he said. "With most patients, there will be a faint rash all over the body after a couple of days."

Although there is no known treatment for Dengue, Petersen suggested patients drink plenty of fluids and take aspirin or Tylenol for the pain.

Michael Fink, epidemiology specialist at the Arizona Department of Health Services, said it is important to distinguish between the disease and the mosquito.

Fink said the Aedes aegypti is well distributed throughout the Tucson area, and has been present in Arizona since 1931, according to entomological journals.

The mosquito is well-adapted to the human habitat, Fink said.

Fink said the mosquito larvae around Tucson will mature into adults in the next few days. He said Dengue is a potential public health problem and it is up to the public to control it.

"The people themselves have to do this," Fink said. "The health department can't go into everyone's backyard."

Fink said mosquitoes love to breed in any small container that can hold water, such as pets' water bowls, bird baths, coffee cans or discarded tires.

"The best way to control it (Dengue) is by people going into their backyards and discarding any temporary containers that might catch rain water," Fink said.

Fink said a "human reservoir" is necessary for Dengue to be spread by the mosquito. So far, he said there is none.

"But it wouldn't be a problem to have a human reservoir step into Tucson," Fink said.

Fink said a person carrying the disease, such as an out-of-state student, traveler or immigrant, could step off a plane or come across the border into Arizona.

Hagedorn said a few cases of Dengue have already shown up in Tucson, but they appeared in people who contracted the disease while traveling in other countries.

"There's been no evidence of the disease being transmitted in the city," Hagedorn said. "The real message is that this is a problem they (residents) can control in their own back yards."

In South and Central America, thousands of cases of Dengue have been reported, he said.

At the symposium, scientists and health officials will discuss how the virus spread to the United States, possibly being blown north from Mexico during a 1994 storm, Hagedorn said.

Hagedorn said four types of the Dengue virus are spreading the disease from South and Central America. After contracting a virus, he said patients are immune to contracting that same virus, but not the other three.

Only one of the four viruses can be fatal if untreated, Hagedorn said.