Mosquitoes

Old mosquitoes usually spread disease, so Australian researchers devised a natural way to make the pests die younger -- by breeding them to carry an insect parasite that causes earlier death. The Australian scientists knew that one type of fruit fly often has a strain of bacterial parasite that cuts its life span in half. So they infected Aedes aegypti -- the mosquito species that spreads dengue fever -- with the fruit-fly parasite, breeding several generations in a laboratory.

If you've got your health, the cliche goes, you've got just about everything. If you've got public health duties, you're responsible for just about everything from mosquitoes (West Nile carriers) to hygiene (wash your hands for as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice). Dr. Jonathan Fielding heads L.A. County's Department of Public Health , which is bigger than some states' health departments. A pediatrician by training and the head of the county's health programs since 1998, Fielding is such a believer that he and his wife, Karin, turned savvy investments into a $50-million gift last year to UCLA's School of Public Health.

Entomologists hesitate to predict how bad mosquitoes and other pests will be this season for travelers headed to national parks, the coasts or other areas where bugs can be plentiful. That's because the proliferation of the pesky pests depends on rainfall and other factors. But on one point most bug experts agree: This year, California may be a prime target for West Nile virus, a disease transmitted when mosquitoes that have fed on infected birds bite humans. The first occurrence of West Nile virus in California was last year, and "the second year seems to have more intense activity," says Roger Nasci, a research entomologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo.

When the Yeah Yeah Yeahs began making records in 2001, it would've been difficult to imagine the band someday doing a song as "Like a Prayer"-ish as "Sacrilege," the first track on its new album. "Falling for a guy, fell down from the sky," frontwoman Karen O sings over a descending guitar figure, "Halo round his head, feathers in our bed. " Later in the tune a gospel choir shows up -- as one did last weekend during the group's performance at Coachella, where it's to play again Friday night -- and pushes "Sacrilege" into true-blue power-in-the-midnight-hour territory.

Attempts to control malaria — which kills about 1 million people a year — have traditionally focused on the use of drugs to treat the disease and insecticides to kill mosquitoes. Now some scientists have devised a sneakier strategy: feed mosquitoes a genetically engineered bacterium that will kill the malaria parasite from within. Insecticides have a major flaw, said Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena, a malaria expert at Johns Hopkins University and an author of the new study. "When insecticides are used — say, inside of houses — many of the mosquitoes in the area get killed but some will always survive.

The Southeast Mosquito Abatement District plans to use four chemicals to control mosquitoes in Glendale. Golden Bear 1111, an oil, Dimilin, BTI and Altosid will be applied at breeding sites. A bumper crop of mosquitoes is expected this season because of heavy spring rains. According to the district, all of the chemicals have been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency as safe for humans, and district technicians will be careful to protect the environment.

Officials of the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District, warning that mosquitoes are hatching in thousands of backyards around the Valley, are offering free bug-eating fish in an attempt to stem the tide of the pesky and sometimes dangerous insects. "Our traps are showing an increase in warm-weather mosquitoes, the Culex species that can carry St. Louis encephalitis," said Jack Hazelrigg, vector control district manager.

Public health workers will monitor birds in search of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. Sentinel chickens are put out in many California counties and are regularly tested for diseases, such as West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis and Western equine encephalomyelitis. There have been no reports of the diseases this year. "If West Nile gets here, our sentinel system is going to know about it very quickly," said epidemiologist William C.

Genetically modified mosquitoes designed to help scientists explore how to inhibit transmission of malaria failed to compete well with their wild cousins in lab tests, complicating efforts to battle the disease. Researchers at Imperial College in London tested the idea of genetically engineering mosquitoes by inserting easily traceable genes in anopheles mosquitoes, the kind that spread malaria. They reported in Friday's issue of Science that the new genes disappeared within 16 generations.

Mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus have been found at a Fullerton park, prompting health officials Monday to increase spraying in the area while warning residents to take precautions. Mosquitoes collected in traps at Craig Regional Park on July 19 tested positive for the virus, which this year has infected 16 people in California, said Tawnia Pett, spokeswoman for Orange County Vector Control.

They call it "break-bone fever" because of the agonizing muscle and joint pain it causes, while extremely severe cases can trigger internal hemorrhaging. Although the mosquito-borne dengue virus was thought to be fully eradicated in the continental United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Wednesday that the tropical disease had indeed returned. In a study published in the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases , authors identified Key West, Fla., as ground zero for transmission of dengue in the U.S..

David Bowie and Justin Timberlake aren't the only musicians returning to active duty this spring. Just days after debuting two new songs at a show at the Glass House in Pomona, New York's Yeah Yeah Yeahs announced Monday that they'll release an album, "Mosquito," on April 16, the post-punk band's first since "It's Blitz!" in 2009. Like "It's Blitz!," the upcoming disc was produced by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio and Nick Launay, who's also worked with Nick Cave and the Cribs , among others.

JUAZEIRO, Brazil - Under normal circumstances, Cicera Maria da Silva would be less than excited about a researcher intentionally releasing thousands of mosquitoes just outside her husband's corner grocery store. Mosquitoes here are not just a ubiquitous annoyance; they spread deadly diseases, including dengue fever, which struck Da Silva's mother a year ago. But that's why she's OK with the truck that passes through this poor corner of Brazil a few times a week and pours so many of the winged creatures into the hot streets.

A second person in Los Angeles County has died of West Nile virus this year, and 54 cases of the illness have been reported locally, public health officials announced Tuesday. The latest death prompted the county health department to renew warnings for people to take precautions and reduce their exposure to mosquitoes, which can transmit the virus through their bites. Health officials said the two who died were both in their 80s and lived in the southeastern part of the county.

West Nile virus has caused symptoms in at least 1,993 Americans and killed 87 so far this year. And it's unlikely that this virus, which humans contract from infected mosquitoes, will be getting any less dangerous in the near future. Though the CDC believes that this year's caseload has probably peaked, a group of public health officials writing in the new edition of Annals of Internal Medicine explains why West Nile has been so deadly this year. West Nile virus made its first appearance in the United States in 1999, when the virus, which had previously affected people in Uganda, Algeria and Romania, arrived in New York City.

HOUSTON -- In a move to stop a deadly outbreak of the West Nile virus carried by mosquitoes, aerial pesticide spraying was set to begin Thursday night over wide swaths of Dallas County, prompting debate among some residents about safety. The decision to arm small planes with a pesticide that officials said posed no health risks came as Texas grappled with 465 West Nile infections and 17 deaths. The outbreak led officials in Dallas city and county, the hardest hit region in the state, to recently declare a state of emergency.

The obvious answer to public resistance to releasing genetically engineered mosquitoes into the wild is to have the mosquitoes deliver something of use to society when they bite ("Building a Better Mosquito," by Michael D'Antonio, Sept. 2). Engineer them to deliver vitamins, a vaccine or, better yet, Viagra. Civic leaders the world over (most being male) would be clamoring for a local release of the little bloodsuckers! Alan Brookman Pasadena

Officials said Wednesday that they are winning the battle against mosquitoes infected with the St. Louis encephalitis virus at the Santa Fe Dam Park in Irwindale. About 500 mosquitoes were trapped Monday night, compared with 25,000 caught last week, said Terry Dipple, San Gabriel Valley Mosquito Abatement District chairman.

The California Department of Public Health has announced the state's first fatality of the year due to West Nile Virus. An 88-year-old woman from Kern County died after being infected by the virus, which is transmitted from mosquitoes to humans. “This unfortunate death reminds us that we must protect ourselves from mosquito bites to prevent West Nile Virus and other mosquito borne infections,” Dr. Ron Chapman, the department's director, said Friday in a statement from the agency.

Attempts to control malaria — which kills about 1 million people a year — have traditionally focused on the use of drugs to treat the disease and insecticides to kill mosquitoes. Now some scientists have devised a sneakier strategy: feed mosquitoes a genetically engineered bacterium that will kill the malaria parasite from within. Insecticides have a major flaw, said Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena, a malaria expert at Johns Hopkins University and an author of the new study. "When insecticides are used — say, inside of houses — many of the mosquitoes in the area get killed but some will always survive.