Swarms of mosquitoes spark CDC advisory for Harvey-impacted regions

A growing number of reports of mosquito swarms in areas hit by Hurricane Harvey has resulted in an advisory by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Texas and Louisiana were the hardest hit by the hurricane-turned-tropical storm, which claimed at least 60 lives and destroyed infrastructure throughout the flood zones.

“Mosquito populations usually increase greatly after flooding. Most of these mosquitoes are considered nuisance mosquitoes and will not spread viruses. However, some types of mosquitoes could spread viruses like Zika, dengue, or West Nile,” CDC officials write.

A viral video (seen above) captured by power line workers in Refugio, Texas, shows hundreds of mosquitoes swarming around them.

“Pictures don’t do it f***ing justice,” remarks Tyler Bennett, who shot the video.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Pictures don't do it f***ing justice," remarks Tyler Bennett, who shot the video.

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The droning noise of the insect swarm is distinctly heard in the footage, which shows the workers covered head-to-toe in protective gear with large patches of mosquitoes clinging to them.

The CDC advises people to use insect repellents with DEET as the active ingredient, among others such as oil of lemon eucalyptus.

According to the men in the video, they had sprayed DEET all over themselves and still had some stubborn stragglers buzz about them.

Despite being simply nuisance mosquitoes, the CDC said “small increases in the numbers of West Nile Virus cases were noted in some areas of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.”

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The risk for an uptick in Zika virus is also a concern, but not an immediate one, said Texas A&M University entomology experts.

Dr. Sonja Swiger, a Texas A&M University veterinary entomologist, said after the initial cycle of floodwater mosquitoes will be a cycle of disease carrying mosquitoes.

“Then as conditions dry up, we will cycle out of those weeks of floodwater mosquitoes, and then begin cycling into a period of time where the disease-transmitting mosquitoes will emerge and build up,” Swiger said.

“So, the initial run of mosquitoes is not too much of a disease threat, although a huge nuisance to people. But it’s the next run we really need to be concerned about.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "So, the initial run of mosquitoes is not too much of a disease threat, although a huge nuisance to people. But it's the next run we really need to be concerned about."

The Texas Department of State Health Services said 26 Zika cases were reported within the state in 2017 as well as 57 cases of West Nile Virus.

On Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said mosquito control measures were being put into place across the state, including “wide-area spraying” by the Department of Defense.

However, with cooler weather in the forecast, experts expect that mosquito populations will decrease.