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The president of Brazil has meanwhile made some pessimistic remarks about that country's fight against that mosquito, saying they are loosing that fight.
Is there even a purpose in the existence of mosquitoes? Would it hurt in any way if we managed to extinguish all mosquitoes?
There are a lot of mosquito species which can adapt to a whole amount of different environments, but this virus is specifically transmitted by one species in particular, Aedes aegypti, so one can approximately predict where this virus may spread out by knowing what the geographic distribution of this mosquito is (It is the virus and not the mosquito what spreads out; the mosquito is already there).
In case of Aedes aegypti, this thing grows in areas with hot and wet summers. This is why Chile for instance is almost in no risk, as the warmer areas of the country also experience dry summers (pretty much like in California). Only Easter island, which is subtropical, would be affected. In case of Canada, I'm not sure why this mosquito is (apparently) absent. Places like Toronto have summers warm and wet enough to support it, but they might be unable to survive the cold season... Maybe it is a combination of both. In some areas of Central Eastern Argentina the Aedes aegypti is present but it doesn't develop very well. It's easy then to deduce that it would become much harder for them to deal with the climate of Southern Canada.
that's true if the only vector is Aedes aegypti; they believe the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, could also be a vector. that one is not in Canada but probably will be before long...
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We don't actually have Aedes aegypti here in Canada. It is in the southern States, it's made of good incursion in southern states but not here. It overwinters in the egg stage, and our climate is just too cold, so they die out.
However there is a second species we are concerned about. It's the one called Aedes albopictus, which is the Asian tiger mosquito. It is also an invasive species, also found in the southern States, and it's moving its way northwards. In fact, this is one of the mosquitoes that's being transported all over the world and becoming an invasive species everywhere it's going, and it can tolerate cooler temperatures. So the concern is that it may in the future be able to establish in Canada.
Scientists believe Aedes albopictus, or the Asian tiger mosquito, also is capable of spreading Zika. This aggressive biter arrived in the United States in 1985 and has replaced Aedes aegypti in some places. Its range includes at least 32 U.S. states as far north as Illinois and Pennsylvania and in pockets as far west as California. Zika mosquitoes’ habits may foil U.S. elimination efforts
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