Mosquito season: Where dengue, West Nile and EEE have been reported in U.S.

Mosquito season isn't over. Charts and maps show where dengue, West Nile and eastern equine encephalitis have been detected and how this year stacks up to the past.

Jennifer White, a New York state epidemiologist, has a reminder as summer’s end approaches: “It may be pumpkin spice season, but it’s not the end of mosquito season.” 

August and September are the peak months for mosquito-borne illnesses in the U.S. That’s because populations of the insects — which prefer warm temperatures and high humidity — have had time to grow and transmit more virus by the end of the summer.

Indeed, new cases of the three most common diseases spread locally by mosquitoes within the U.S. — dengue fever, eastern equine encephalitis and West Nile virus — are still being reported in many states. This week, California health officials issued a warning about three locally acquired dengue cases in Los Angeles County, two of which were announced Wednesday. 

“This is an unprecedented cluster of locally acquired dengue for a region where dengue has not previously been transmitted by mosquitoes,” Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said at a news conference.

In the U.S. overall this year, a concerning, though not unprecedented, number of dengue, EEE and West Nile cases have been reported. Last month, New Hampshire saw its first case and death from EEE since 2014, and Vermont reported its first case since 2012. In perhaps the most public case of West Nile this year, Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was hospitalized in August then sent home to recover. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/mosquito-season-dengue-west-nile-eee-cases-rcna171333

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