Mosquitoes

With mosquitoes abundant across the state, some counties have been practicing mitigation strategies against the bugs. Experts discuss the latest on "The Florida Roundup."

This week on The Florida Roundup, we discussed the state’s probe into the apparent assassination attempt on former President Trump, mosquito control efforts in Lee County, the public health risk mosquitoes pose, the latest claims check, environmental news stories from across the state and a listener mailbag.

Three sentinel chickens recently tested positive for West Nile virus in the county. While mosquitoes tend to be a year-round problem in Florida, heavy rains with flooding tend to increase their presence.

Part of the state’s surveillance program is keeping track of flooded areas, as pools of accumulated rainfall are prone to becoming mosquito breeding grounds.

The Florida Department of Health has recorded 30 cases in the state this year, all by patients who had been in Cuba. The disease is transmitted to humans by flies called midges and some types of mosquitoes.

The donation from the Pass It on to Kids Foundation will advance groundbreaking work to eradicate neuroblastoma and ovarian cancers. This gift will also support the Nemours' music therapy program.

How do Aedes female mosquitos find the perfect site to lay their eggs? FIU researchers find they rely on one another for good reviews of breeding sites.

After malaria cases this summer in Sarasota County, the need to combat mosquito-borne illnesses remains as rain from Hurricane Idalia has increased breeding grounds for the insects, according to mosquito experts.

Extreme heat or flooding may not be to blame for Sarasota's malaria outbreak, but scientists say changing weather patterns could still increase risk for mosquito-borne diseases.

Sarasota and Manatee counties remain under mosquito-borne illness alert. Polk and Orange counties are under advisories. Meantime, a third case of dengue was confirmed in Miami-Dade.

No new cases of malaria were reported in the health department's latest update. But mosquito control officials in the region say residents shouldn't let their guards down as the rainy season continues.

Polk County is working to make sure the odds of malaria spreading northward are as low as possible.