Yellow Fever Mosquito Invades Bay Area, Albany Residents Asked to Report Any

The "Yellow Fever mosquito" – or Aedes aegypti – was recently found in the Bay Area, and Alameda County health officials are conducting a special monitoring program in Albany with mosquito traps and a request to the public to report any of the disease-carrying insects.

And while any sightings are welcome, any captured mosquito would be especially helpful, said Daniel Wilson of the Vector Control Services District, part of the county's Department of Environmental Health.


Though Aedes aegypti is called the "yellow fever mosquito" because it can carry yellow fever, the concern in Alameda County is dengue fever, which the mosquito also carries, Wilson said. Dengue fever is a virus-borne illness that is a leading causes of illness and death in tropical and subtropical parts of the world.

"The biggest concern is with dengue fever," he said. Cases of dengue fever are reported every year in California, including 11 cases last year in Alameda County, but all of them in the past have been caused by infections acquired outside the state by people who then arrived in or returned to the state, typically people who have been vacationing in other countries, Wilson said. 

One risk is that of the yellow fever mosquito in California biting someone infected with dengue fever and then transmitting it to others, he said.

The yellow fever mosquito was detected in Menlo Park late last month, Wilson said. Although it has been known in some southern states, it first showed up in California earlier this year in Fresno and Madera counties, he said.

The county's Vector Control Services District typically doesn't handle mosquitoes since that job is up to the county's Mosquito Abatement District, but Albany is not a member of the Mosquito Abatement District, Wilson said. So the Vector Control Services District, part of the county's Health Care Services Agency, has taken on mosquito surveillance and control just for Albany, Wilson said.

A notice from Wilson's office says, "The Aedes aegypti species is a tiny (about ¼ inch) black and white mosquito that bites most often during the day, unlike our already existing mosquitoes found in Albany, that usually feed at dawn, dusk and night." (The accompanying photo shows Aedes aegypti.)

The risk in not high in Albany since the city enjoys a relatively cool climate most of the time and since mosquitoes prefer birds to people, Wilson acknowledged.

"But," the notice adds, "it is better to be prepared and do our best to avoid a problem, than wait and hope it does not occur."  

"If you notice a mosquito biting you during the day, or any mosquitoes at all in Albany, please call us, Alameda County Vector Control Services District at: 510.567.6800, or visit our web site and send an email (www.acvcsd.org) or make an online request for service," the notice says. "Capturing the offending mosquito will greatly help and expedite the investigation."

"Hopefully," it adds, "the mosquito detection in Menlo Park is just a one‐time detection, but we must err on the side of good public health policy for preventable vector‐borne diseases."  

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