By STEVEN VIERA
Staff Writer
Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties occupy a combined area of nearly 1,500 square miles, yet officials are on the hunt for predators that could fit inside the palm of one’s hand.
Mosquitoes, which can be carriers of the infectious Zika virus, are the target of local officials who say prevention and education are the best ways to stay safe.
“Being informed is the best thing you can do and taking precautions from there,” said Michael Romanowski, superintendent of the Middlesex County Mosquito Extermination Commission.
The Zika virus has affected large areas of Africa and South Asia, albeit infrequently, since its initial discovery in 1947. The first recorded case of human infection occurred in 1952. While the disease mostly remained in the Eastern Hemisphere, an outbreak struck the Americas in 2015 — particularly Brazil — which has reached pandemic levels and continues today. It is unclear why the disease erupted from a regional malady into a global health crisis.
“We’re working on getting [an answer] …. More than likely, an infected person was set upon by mosquitoes in a tropical area. Those mosquitoes then went about spreading it,” explained Scott Crans, senior program coordinator at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES), who also teaches mosquito biology.
Crans noted that with the ease of air travel, it would not be difficult for an infected person who is unaware of their condition to travel across the world and unintentionally expose new populations to Zika. “That’s what we’re working on preventing here,” he added.
Common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis (red eyes). There is currently no vaccine or known cure.
The virus can be transmitted during pregnancy from mother to fetus, which can cause birth defects, including microcephaly — a small head — and brain damage. On May 31, a woman from Honduras who was infected with Zika gave birth to a baby with microcephaly at Hackensack University Medical Center.
While it may also be transmitted sexually or via blood transfusion, Zika is a mosquito-borne disease, and raising awareness of the risk of mosquito bites and working to prevent the growth of mosquito populations are the key ways that many local officials are fighting the virus.
Aedes albopictus, also known as the Asian Tiger mosquito, is the only known mosquito in New Jersey that can carry Zika. According to Dr. Deepak Matadha, superintendent of the Middlesex County Mosquito Extermination Commission, the Asian Tiger hits peak activity in mid-July, meaning populations are still relatively small for the moment.
Matadha’s department is working on targeting known mosquito hotspots, but he pointed out that the Asian Tiger is a “backyard breeder.” Rather than growing around swamps or marshlands, Asian Tiger mosquitoes breed in standing water in small containers, such as flower pots and dilapidated birdbaths, and can even lay eggs in spaces as small as a bottle cap.
“Water is the key for these mosquitoes,” he said, explaining that as long as some water is available, Asian Tiger mosquitoes can find a place to breed.
To cut down on potential breeding grounds, Middlesex County has an active tire abatement program that has already collected over 1,000 tires from across the county, as tires are a favorite site for Asian Tiger mosquitoes to lay eggs.
Surveillance of known mosquito hotspots is also done, and crews spread larvicide to kill eggs or spray chemicals to target adult mosquitoes and lay traps to catch them so they can be studied and tested for Zika as well as the West Nile and chikungunya viruses. Each county’s mosquito control agency has traps such as these, but Middlesex alone has 18.
In Monmouth County, like in Middlesex, officials are inspecting communities for potential mosquito breeding sites and collecting abandoned tires as well, although their primary tactic is sharing information with the public.
“We have several initiatives to help prevent mosquito-borne illnesses. First and foremost is education. We have held several forums with our partners on the local level to help them understand what they should look for and what they can do,” said Freeholder Deputy Director Serena DiMaso, who works closely with the Monmouth County Mosquito Control Board.
Municipalities are also deploying their own methods for combating a potential outbreak of Zika.
Woodbridge, for example, recently announced a program where the township would identify abandoned homes with swimming pools. The abandoned pools would then be drained, dismantled or filled in or covered with an airtight seal to prevent them from serving as sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed.
According to John Hagerty, a spokesman for Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac, the township will also be sending health inspectors to all homes registered as having a pool in addition to continuing mosquito education programs.
“Each springtime, we [offer] public tips and information on how residents should patrol their properties to remove any potential breeding areas for mosquitoes. We’ve been doing this initiative for many years, notwithstanding the Zika virus,” he said.
In Manalapan, the Health Department is pursuing a similar strategy of eliminating standing water and educating the public to fight Zika.
“We’ve heightened our priority response to complaints about standing water. It’s always been a public health concern and the potential for mosquito breeding, but this year we understand the needs of the community,” Manalapan Health Department Director Dave Richardson said. He also added that the Health Department is using email and posts on social media to reach out to residents with Zika-related information.
Despite these precautions, however, officials believe that the potential for an outbreak of Zika is rather low.
“We do not expect bite-spread outbreaks in New Jersey, in part because we have very well-organized mosquito control programs,” Matadha said, although he did acknowledge the possibility that some local transmission of Zika may occur on a small scale.
“Most of the populations of the two mosquito species considered to be prime candidates as vectors of Zika virus, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, are not very competent for [transmitting] this virus — that means that even if they take a blood meal from an infectious person, they are relatively unlikely to become infected,” said Dr. Dina Fonseca of NJAES’ Center for Vector Biology.
But even though the Asian Tiger has a small capacity to transmit the virus, there is still the potential that the mosquito population will reach a level where an individual’s odds of infection go up due to an increase in the number of mosquitoes that can bite, which makes it particularly important to limit one’s exposure to mosquitoes.
In the United States, people spend less time outside and more time indoors where they enjoy the benefits of window screens as security against mosquitoes, but when leaving the house, it is critical to use additional precautions.
“Take personal protection measures. Use EPA-recommended repellent and one that contains DEET,” Matadha said. He also suggested that individuals further limit their exposure by wearing long pants and long-sleeve shirts, trimming weeds and brush where mosquitoes can build habitats, and performing a weekly “yard audit” to empty sources of standing water around their homes where mosquitoes can breed. The Asian Tiger is “a daytime biter,” so he encouraged people to be especially aware during daylight hours.
For more information on the Zika virus, visit the Center for Disease Control at http://www.cdc.gov/zika/index.html.
Contact Steven Viera at sviera@gmnews.com.
