Cities like Mobile, Gulf Shores and Fairhope, Alabama, have become the friendliest environment for mosquitos carrying the Zika virus, according to Derrick Mathias, an assistant professor of entomology and plant pathology at Auburn University.
With the Zika virus now reaching the United States, mosquitoes biting any Zika-infected travelers in the gulf coast region could become new carriers of the disease, and any new bite victim could then be infected.
The questions for Mathias’s research now is: “Which mosquito will carry the virus and why can some mosquitoes carry certain viruses while others can’t?”
Mathias has been doing field work and lab work at Funchess Hall to find the answers to these questions.
He and his fellow researchers think there is one type of mosquito right now in Alabama that is capable of transmitting the Zika virus: the Asian Tiger mosquito.
“The [Asian] Tiger mosquito is capable,” Mathias said. “But many mosquitoes are not. That's the thing that's driving a lot of the research questions. It's a simple question with a very complex answer.”
Mathias explained how questions like these arise because of the cellular interaction between the mosquito and the virus.
“It's all based on cellular interaction,” Mathias said. “So it almost works like a lock and key. Mosquito cells act a lot like our cells.”
In order for a mosquito to become a transmitter, the mosquito has to bite the infected traveler, live through the incubation period of the virus and then bite someone else, according to Mathias.
“The goal of the virus is to get into the salivary glands of the mosquito,” Mathias said. “The saliva then transfers the disease on to humans when it feeds.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most people infected with Zika will not even realize they have the virus because the symptoms are so mild. Many would confuse the mild headaches, fever and irritated eyes with any other cold or viral infection.
As of June 1, 618 cases of the Zika virus have been reported to the CDC's system.
Zika cases very rarely result in death, according to the CDC's website, and if you get infected, you probably won't even feel sick enough to go to the doctor. But the mosquito-borne virus poses a heavy threat to pregnant mothers.
But the risk of birth defects in children born to mothers infected with the virus is high. That risk is the greatest concern for the CDC and other health agencies.
Mathias has been trapping mosquitos in Auburn and other parts of the Lee County area and will be doing field work in Birmingham over this summer. He will use the trapped mosquitos to research the pathology between the virus and the insect.
“There is a huge variety of traps to use,” Mathias said. “A lot of them focus on the mosquito’s biology, so some are used on the mosquitoes breeding sites.”
Mathias’ surveillance work is also being done by other researchers that he knows in Huntsville, and anywhere near the gulf coast, which is where the mosquitoes pose the biggest threat.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
