LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Southern Nevada's mosquito population has exploded in recent years, raising concerns about the spread of disease across the Las Vegas Valley.
Many longtime locals remember when mosquitoes weren't a problem in Las Vegas, but that has changed dramatically, especially with the spread of a breed called Aedes aegypti.
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UNLV public health experts have launched a new survey to gauge community concerns and determine if residents would support creating a valley-wide mosquito control program.
"What we'd like to do is to essentially ask the community here in Clark County, are mosquitoes a public health problem? Are they a nuisance? Are they biting you in and around your house or when you're outside in the community? And if so, if you do feel that they are an issue, should something be done about it?" said Louisa Messenger, assistant professor of public health at UNLV.
Messenger has worked closely with local health officials to monitor the mosquito population and says the problem is worsening each year.
"At the same time we've also set recent records for West Nile virus as well, having the most positive mosquito pools in the US Southwest last year. So mosquitoes are changing. We are making the ecology and the environment here in Clark County more hospitable for them to proliferate," Messenger said.
While vector control exists for county areas, Messenger believes a larger department or abatement district covering the entire valley could be a solution.
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Graduate student Annalisa Ramirez is helping with the survey, which will also serve as her thesis project. The survey takes about five minutes to complete and asks questions about living conditions and mosquito encounters.
"With this survey, you can even think about what happened last summer and apply that to this," Ramirez said.
The survey asks residents to indicate their level of support for a future Las Vegas mosquito control program and their willingness to pay for such services if it were to appear on a ballot.
"That's really what you want to know," Ramirez said.
No names or specific addresses are required, and all information remains private. The survey will remain open throughout the summer, with data being used for a presentation to Clark County officials later this year.
When asked about the consequences of inaction, Messenger expressed serious concerns.
"That we will continue to see changes in our vector-borne disease transmission here. We will continue to see Aedes aegypti spreading across the valley. We predict this year, 62 zip codes are going to become infested," Messenger said.
The survey is available in English here. The Spanish version is availablehere.
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