Mercer County Mosquito Control 8/6/2013

Entomologist Isik Unlu sorts and identifies different types of mosquitoes at the mosquito lab at Mercer County Mosquito Control in Ewing on Tuesday, August 8, 2013.

( Martin Griff / The Times of Trenton)

TRENTON -- Recent warmer-than-usual winters that may be attributable to climate change have brought a troublesome and potentially dangerous new effect, according to a Mercer County scientist: expanding swarms of Asian tiger mosquitoes.

The subtropical species can harbor more than 30 viruses that can be dangerous to humans and has been in New Jersey since 1995. Thanks to the warmer weather, it has been surviving the winter months in far greater numbers in the last few years, said Ary Farajollahi, superintendent of Mercer County Mosquito Control.

“Our winters have been kind of mild the last few years, and that’s when we’ve seen the range expansion and explosion of this mosquito,” Farajollahi said.

“It’s creating a tremendous headache for us,” he said. “We’re basically begging for additional information to determine what the best measures are in controlling it.”

A research paper that Farajollahi co-wrote in April on climate change, the geographic expansion of the Asian tiger mosquito and the impact on public health, was recently chosen as one of the 16 most influential papers published in the journals PLOS One and PLOS Biology. It is part of a new collection, “The Ecological Impacts of Climate Change,” in the Public Library of Science.

Of the viruses carried by the mosquito species, one of the most common is the virus that causes dengue fever, which is characterized by high fever, severe headaches and joint pain, he said. The mosquito has been linked to West Nile virus as well. The first New Jersey resident diagnosed with West Nile this year, a 55-year-old Burlington County man, developed symptoms Aug. 5, state health officials said Friday.

Dengue fever has not increased since the mosquito was discovered in the U.S. in 1985, but there is still a potential for an outbreak, according to an article published by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service.

“We’re just starting to learn about this species, and just starting to learn about all the implications,” Farajollahi said.

Experts are concerned about the public health impact in part because the Asian tiger mosquito is a more aggressive biter than other species and is likely to attack humans during the day as well as in the evening hours.

In addition, unlike other species of mosquitoes known to inhabit the northeastern United States, the Asian tiger mosquito thrives in small pools of standing water of the kind found in urban areas.

“This is not a mosquito that’s ever going to be found in a floodwater habitat or a swamp habitat,” Farajollahi said. “This is a different ballgame for us. This is a mosquito that’s found in your backyard. Our resources are extremely limited.”

It’s easiest to eliminate mosquitoes in their early stages of life, before they go airborne.

The best defense is to empty any water containers every five days. Bird baths, buckets and tarps in backyards can hold small pools of water where mosquitoes can lay eggs, Farajollahi said.

The county’s mosquito control team cannot go into every backyard and alleyway to check for standing water, so homeowners are ultimately responsible for helping to control the mosquitoes, he said.

“We’re basically saying, ‘Look, this mosquito is here, it’s expanding, it’s very difficult to control. And we really need to focus our efforts on how to control it, because the last thing we want is a health epidemic on our hands,’” he said.

The selection of the article on climate change and the Asian tiger mosquito as among the most influential published recently brought praise from Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes, who said the expertise of Farajollahi and his staff ensures “our mosquito control efforts are second to none.”

“To be selected as one of the 16 among thousands and thousands of papers is a pretty prestigious thing for us,” Farajollahi said.

The collection can be viewed online at www.ploscollections.org/ecoclimatechange.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Alyssa Mease at amease@njtimes.com or at (609) 989-5673.

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