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When female mosquitoes are looking for a human to bite, they smell a unique cocktail of body odors that we emit into the air. These odors then stimulate receptors in the mosquitoes' antenna. Scientists have tried deleting these receptors in attempts to make humans undetectable to mosquitoes. However, even after knocking out an entire family of odor-sensing receptors from the mosquito genome, mosquitoes still find a way to bite us. Now, a group of researchers found that mosquitoes have evolved re …

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported two human cases of the West Nile virus.Health officials in New York City reported two human cases of the West Nile virus (WNV), amid a banner summer for infected mosquitoes—and COVID-19 and monkeypox and polio—in the city. According to a statement from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, one case was found in Brooklyn and one in Queens. The department also said that a record number of WNV-infected …

Mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus (WNV) were detected in Elmore County on July 29, prompting health officials to remind people to take precautions to “Fight the Bite.” The positive mosquitoes, which are the first detected in Idaho this year, were collected by the Elmore County Mosquito Abatement District. Last year, Elmore County detected its first WNV-positive mosquitoes on July 27.“The detection of West Nile virus-positive mosquitoes in Elmore County indicates that conditions are right for t …

Mosquitoes recently collected in Bay County have tested positive for Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Laboratories (MDHHS BOL). These are the first infected mosquito pools detected for 2022. Residents are reminded that the best way to protect themselves against JCV and other mosquito-borne illnesses, including Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile virus (WNV), is to prevent mosquito bites.Every summer in Michigan, bites from …

After a relative reprieve from mosquitoes and biting flies due to drought conditions last summer, Minnesotans are facing an onslaught of those pesky insects this year.Northern Minnesota's snowy winter and wet spring created excellent conditions for insects to proliferate.Residents along parts of the North Shore say the mosquitoes so far are mostly tolerable; they fly slow, and a good breeze will scare them off. Rather, it's an epic crop of black flies that've causing the most headaches this seas …