Mosquito season expanding in NC
THOSE STORIES AND MORE AT THE
TOP OF THE HOUR. WE KNOW CHRIS.
>> ALL RIGHT. THANKS, JERROLD.
IT IS EARLY SPRING AND YOU MAY
ALREADY BE SCRATCHING THOSE
BITES FROM ONE OF THE WORLD'S
MOST HATED INSECTS AND SKILLS
AND THE DISEASES THEY CAN CARRY
ARE SHOWING UP MUCH SOONER THAN
NORMAL AND STAYING AROUND FOR A
LONGER TIME. WRAL, CLIMATE
CHANGE REPORTER LIZ MCLAUGHLIN
WENT TO AN NC STATE RESEARCHER
ABOUT WHY THIS IS HAPPENING AND
WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.
>> THE SKI TOW IS THE MOST
COMMON IS GET IN YOUR BACKYARD
RIGHT NOW.
>> MICHAEL RICE KIND IS AN
ENTOMOLOGIST PROFESSOR AT NC
STATE WHOSE RECENTLY STARTED
STUDYING MOSQUITOES YEAR-ROUND
TO EDITION TO THAT PLAN, A
GETTING WARMER.
>> WE ALSO HAVE LAND USE CHANGE
TO ICE HAVE INVASIVE SPECIES
AND ALL THOSE THINGS HAVE
CONTRIBUTED TO A REALLY
DIFFERENT MOSQUITO LANDSCAPE
THAN IT WAS 40 OR 50 YEARS AGO.
>> IN A RECENT ANALYSIS BY
CLIMATE CENTRAL. THE RALEIGH
AREA SEEN NEARLY A MONTH MORE
DAYS WITH CONDITIONS, RIGHT FOR
MOSQUITO ACTIVITY THAN WE DID
IN THE 1970'S. IT'S REALLY BAD
FOR DISEASE AND FOR SPREADS ALL
KINDS OF DISEASE. WEST NILE,
ZIKA, ALL THINGS LIKE THAT'S
GOING TO GET HARDER FOR US TO
STAY HEALTHY WHEN WE'RE GETTING
BIT MORE OFTEN IN 2023, ALMOST
900 CASES OF TICK AND
MOSQUITO-BORNE ILLNESSES WERE
REPORTED ACROSS THE STATE.
NORTH CAROLINA IS SECOND IN THE
COUNTRY FOR INFECTIONS FROM LA
CROSSE VIRUS. OUR WINDOW OF
RISK GOES FROM.
>> 6 MONTHS TO 8 MONTHS OR FROM
4 MONTHS TO 8 MONTHS.
YOU KNOW THAT JUST INCREASES
THE LIKELIHOOD THAT SOME POINT
WE'LL HAVE A LOCAL OUTBREAK OF
DENGUE, A FEVER.
>> IN RALEIGH.
>> EXPERTS SAY IT'S A GOOD TIME
TO START TAKING PRECAUTIONS TO
FIGHT THE BITE. USE A REPELLENT
THAT CONTAINS DEET REPAIR OR
INSTALL WINDOW SCREENS AND TIP
IN TOSS TO DEE ITEMS WITH
STANDING WATER WHERE MOSQUITOES
CAN BREED. YOU'RE AROUND THE
SKEETERS. THAT'S
>> THAT'S THAT'S GOING TO BE
A FUTURE TAKING STEPS TO LOWER
RISK AS MOSQUITOES TAKE OVER
MORE MONTHS OF THE YEAR.
>> THERE'S MCLAUGHLIN, WRAL,
NEWS.
>> APRIL IS TAKING MOSQUITO
AWARENESS MONTH AND THE STATE
HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS INVITING
STUDENTS K THROUGH 12 TO SUBMIT
AN EDUCATIONAL POSTER FOR ITS
FIGHT. THE BITE CAMPAIGN