From Sierra Wave Media
May 9, 2019
News release
(This is a joint communication from the Mono County Health Department and the Owens Valley Mosquito Abatement Program (OVMAP): Big snow years can mean big mosquito seasons and we are expecting some bugs!
Thank you to Rob Miller (OVAP), Anna Scott (Inyo County HHS), Joe Burns (CDPH), and our own Louis Molina (MCHD) for info and edits.)
Mosquitoes are annoying but can also carry diseases. Local authorities expect large numbers of mosquitoes in our area this spring due to lots of snowmelt and runoff. West Nile Virus has affected people in the Eastern Sierra in recent years, although to date it remains uncommon.
Currently public health experts are monitoring the spread of invasive Aedes mosquitoes such as the Aedes aegypti, and albopictus which have been introduced into the United States from other countries and established themselves from San Diego to the Central Valley. Invasive Aedes mosquitoes can also spread other viral diseases that we would rather not have in our region, including dengue, yellow fever, Zika and Chikungunya.
Fortunately, none of these viruses are currently known to be transmitted within California, but thousands of people are infected with these viruses in other parts of the world, including in Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Asia.