HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLA — Sarasota County confirmedits fifth and sixth malaria cases in the last two months. While no confirmed cases exist in Hillsborough County, the mosquito management team said everyone should be on high alert.
"The couple that you're looking at there, in the microscope, are the anopheles… the type that can carry malaria," David Fiess, the Manager of Mosquito Management Services, explained.
Fiess said Hillsborough County has more than 40 different types of mosquitoes.
"The anopheles fly during the night, and the aedes aegypti fly during the day," Fiess added.
Through a microscope, the mosquito management team can determine its species and whether it can carry diseases. That's one of the many ways they track and detect mosquitoes. They also use chickens and test them once a week.
"Chickens, they're like the first indication there's a virus in the area, and we want to know that right away... We've got them in areas that are highly populated that have the potential to have the type of mosquitoes that would carry the virus," Leonard Burns, Senior Supervisor, added.
When the county gets a report from the Florida Department of Health of travel cases, one of the main goals is to prevent that infected person from getting bit by a mosquito so that it doesn't transfer and spread among others.
"When we go out and spray at night, really, we're going to knock down about maybe 30-35 percent of those mosquitoes that are flying around in the air," Fiess added.
Fiess said it's easier to kill a mosquito while in the water because if it's carrying malaria, it can fly about half a mile away from the water.
It's why the county is urging everyone to do their part.
"Mosquitoes only need a fourth inch of water to go through their life cycle. So, a little bottle cap, ice tray, kitty pool, bird bath, any of those water needs to be dumped out or flushed out and put fresh water in," Fiess explained.
