As mosquito ranges expand, better monitoring is key to preventing disease

随着蚊子栖息地范围扩大，加强监测是预防疾病的关键

With summer heat comes pool parties, beach days, backyard cookouts, and, of course, swarms of bloodthirsty mosquitoes. But while insect bites have always been a side effect of time spent outdoors, the species doing the biting are changing in historically temperate regions like New England. As climate change makes these areas warmer and wetter, their ranges are expanding—and any diseases they carry come with them. 随着夏季高温的到来，泳池派对、海滩时光、后院烧烤以及成群嗜血的蚊子也随之而来。虽然昆虫叮咬一直是户外活动的“副作用”，但在新英格兰等历史上属于温带的地区，叮咬人类的蚊子种类正在发生变化。随着气候变化使这些地区变得更加温暖潮湿，蚊子的栖息范围正在扩大，它们所携带的疾病也随之而来。

In Connecticut, for example, a statewide mosquito monitoring program has detected 54 different species, including invasives like the Asian tiger mosquito, which can transmit potentially serious diseases including dengue and Zika. The mosquito’s historical territory is in hot and humid climates farther south, but it has been moving north. 以康涅狄格州为例，一项全州范围的蚊子监测计划已经检测出 54 个不同物种，其中包括像白纹伊蚊（亚洲虎蚊）这样的入侵物种，它们可以传播登革热和寨卡病毒等潜在的严重疾病。这种蚊子原本的栖息地位于更南方的湿热气候区，但现在正不断向北迁徙。

“There are a number of new species that are creeping into our area,” said Philip Armstrong, chief scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, which coordinates the state’s mosquito trapping and testing program. Programs like these are key for preventing mosquito-borne diseases, especially as climate change alters the risks. “You really do have to test the mosquitoes to know where the hot spots are for these viruses,” Armstrong said. “By the time we learn about human cases, it’s usually too late to do anything.” “有许多新物种正在悄悄进入我们地区，”康涅狄格州农业实验站的首席科学家菲利普·阿姆斯特朗（Philip Armstrong）表示，该机构负责协调全州的蚊子诱捕和检测项目。此类项目对于预防蚊媒疾病至关重要，尤其是在气候变化改变了风险格局的情况下。“你必须通过检测蚊子来确定这些病毒的传播热点，”阿姆斯特朗说，“等到我们发现人类病例时，通常已经为时已晚，无法采取有效措施了。”

There aren’t statewide monitoring programs in much of the country. Instead, a patchwork quilt of more than 1,000 mosquito control agencies tries to keep ahead of an evolving problem. Most are run at the local level, with a wide range of organizational structures and monitoring practices. The US ought to have a national surveillance database collecting and sharing information from all monitoring programs, said Dan Markowski of the American Mosquito Control Association, a nonprofit that works to reduce mosquitoes and vector-transmitted diseases. But, he added, “it all obviously comes back to money.” 美国大部分地区并没有全州范围的监测计划。取而代之的是由 1000 多个蚊虫防治机构组成的“拼凑式”网络，试图在不断演变的问题面前保持领先。大多数机构由地方层面运营，组织结构和监测手段各不相同。美国蚊虫防治协会（一个致力于减少蚊子和病媒传播疾病的非营利组织）的丹·马科夫斯基（Dan Markowski）表示，美国应该建立一个国家级监测数据库，收集并共享所有监测项目的信息。但他补充说：“这一切显然都归结于资金问题。”

Last week, Connecticut announced that mosquitoes in the state have already tested positive for West Nile virus this season. The virus, which appears every summer, has become the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the Northeast. While most infections are asymptomatic, it can cause flu-like symptoms and has resulted in more than 3,300 deaths since it first appeared in the US in 1999. 上周，康涅狄格州宣布该州本季的蚊子样本中已检测出西尼罗河病毒阳性。这种每年夏天都会出现的病毒，已成为美国东北部蚊媒疾病的主要诱因。虽然大多数感染者没有症状，但它也可能引起类似流感的症状，自 1999 年首次在美国出现以来，已导致超过 3300 人死亡。

Connecticut established its monitoring program two years before that to monitor for a different virus: Eastern equine encephalitis, a rare but serious mosquito-borne disease that can cause neurological issues and has a roughly 30 percent fatality rate. While it is still uncommon, outbreaks are becoming more frequent in New England. “There’s these cycles of increased virus activity, and we didn’t see that before, historically,” Armstrong said. “It has the hallmarks of something that’s being affected by climate change.” 康涅狄格州在西尼罗河病毒出现前两年就建立了监测计划，旨在监测另一种病毒：东部马脑炎。这是一种罕见但严重的蚊媒疾病，可导致神经系统问题，致死率约为 30%。尽管它仍然不常见，但在新英格兰地区的爆发频率正在增加。“出现了病毒活动增加的周期，这在历史上是前所未有的，”阿姆斯特朗说，“这具有受气候变化影响的典型特征。”

In temperate regions like the Northeast, global warming can alter mosquito-borne disease risks not only by expanding the range of virus-carrying insects but also by lengthening the transmission season, reducing the number of mosquito predators and changing habitats, among other factors. Researchers predict that tropical mosquito-borne diseases like Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and malaria will likely become established in temperate areas because of climate change. 在东北部等温带地区，全球变暖不仅通过扩大携带病毒昆虫的栖息范围来改变蚊媒疾病风险，还通过延长传播季节、减少蚊子天敌数量以及改变栖息地等因素产生影响。研究人员预测，由于气候变化，寨卡、登革热、基孔肯雅热和疟疾等热带蚊媒疾病很可能会在温带地区扎根。

“As the temperatures rise, you can actually speed up mosquito development, so you can have multiple cycles of mosquitoes every year in new areas,” said Brian Leydet, who studies mosquito- and tick-borne diseases at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Beyond mosquitoes, Leydet said environmental changes can also affect viruses and their original hosts, such as birds and deer, creating complex ecological shifts that can be difficult to study. “随着气温升高，蚊子的发育速度会加快，因此在新的地区，每年可能会出现多个蚊子繁殖周期，”纽约州立大学环境科学与林业学院研究蚊虫和蜱虫传播疾病的布莱恩·莱德特（Brian Leydet）说。莱德特表示，除了蚊子，环境变化还会影响病毒及其原始宿主（如鸟类和鹿），从而引发难以研究的复杂生态变化。

Leydet helped establish a monitoring program in St. Lawrence County, New York, in 2024, after an Eastern equine encephalitis outbreak. Unlike Connecticut, New York does not have a statewide program, and many counties “lack the infrastructure and budget to conduct regular mosquito monitoring,” according to the project announcement. Monitoring programs are typically labor-intensive and expensive, requiring teams to set and check traps, alongside specialists who can identify, sort, and test the samples. 在一次东部马脑炎爆发后，莱德特于 2024 年协助在纽约州圣劳伦斯县建立了监测项目。根据项目公告，与康涅狄格州不同，纽约州没有全州范围的计划，许多县“缺乏进行定期蚊子监测的基础设施和预算”。监测项目通常既费力又昂贵，需要团队设置和检查诱捕器，还需要专家来识别、分类和测试样本。

While some traps attract female mosquitoes with “stinky water” loaded with decaying organic material, others require dry ice to release carbon dioxide that mosquitoes sniff out when hunting for mammals. But in rural parts of New York, dry ice can be hard to come by—the team had to make their own. Even beyond the logistical and resource challenges, communication, coordination, and data sharing for mosquito monitoring can be a challenge. 虽然有些诱捕器利用装满腐烂有机物的“臭水”来吸引雌蚊，但另一些则需要干冰来释放二氧化碳，蚊子在寻找哺乳动物时会嗅到这种气体。但在纽约州的农村地区，干冰很难获得，团队不得不自己制作。除了后勤和资源挑战外，蚊子监测在沟通、协调和数据共享方面也可能面临困难。

“One of the problems with states that are not comprehensively doing these surveillance programs is that surveillance is hit or miss,” Leydet said. “A lot of these surveillance programs are run by the counties, and they’re not really talking to each other.” Leydet’s lab found that this patchwork system means some invasive mosquito species are flying under the radar. Funding is another challenge to better surveillance. “If the county doesn’t have money or resources, these programs fade away,” Leydet said. “If we don’t have these surveillance programs, then all we’re doing is responding to a problem when it’s already a problem, and that’s never how prevention works.” “那些没有全面开展监测计划的州，存在的问题之一就是监测工作时断时续，”莱德特说，“许多监测项目由各县自行运营，它们之间并没有真正的沟通。”莱德特的实验室发现，这种拼凑式的系统意味着一些入侵蚊种正处于监测盲区。资金是改善监测工作的另一个挑战。“如果县里没有钱或资源，这些项目就会消失，”莱德特说，“如果我们没有这些监测项目，那么我们所做的就只是在问题已经发生时才去应对，而这绝不是预防之道。”

That could change with a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature this session, which would lay the groundwork for a comprehensive mosquito surveillance program—rather than what the bill calls the “sparse and disintegrated” current system—to help public health officials respond before an outbreak. Proactive measures can include removing pools of standing water, applying targeted larvicides in breeding habitats, and warning the public to use insect repellent. 这种情况可能会随着纽约州议会本届会议提出的一项法案而改变。该法案旨在为建立全面的蚊子监测计划奠定基础，以取代法案中所称的“稀疏且分散”的现状，从而帮助公共卫生官员在疫情爆发前做出反应。主动预防措施包括清除积水、在滋生地使用针对性的杀幼虫剂，以及提醒公众使用驱蚊剂。