Entomologists Discuss Discovery’s “Mosquito” Documentary: A Live-Tweet Recap

The Discovery documentary Mosquito brought some well-deserved attention to mosquitoes and the human disease pathogens that they transmit around the world. (Image courtesy of Discovery)
By Donald A. Yee, Ph.D.
The old adage “bad press is better than no press” has a long history, and it surely applies to coverage of insects broadly and insects that are harmful to humans, more specifically. If you missed the Discovery channel program Mosquito that aired last Thursday night, July 6, then you missed a chance to see some of that press.
As an attempt to explore what was factual and clearing up any potential fear-mongering or errors, a group of mosquito researchers got together and live tweeted the event. If you’re not familiar with a live tweet (don’t worry, you’re probably not alone), it uses the social media platform Twitter to facilitate real time discussion around a central topic or event. In this case, I was joined by three other mosquito researchers who use Twitter for mosquito-related information: Cameron Webb, Ph.D., medical entomologist at the University of Sydney, Australia (@Mozziebites); Jason Rasgon, Ph.D., professor of entomology at Pennsylvania State University, (@vectorgen); and Autumn Angelus, biologist at the Salem County Mosquito Control Department in New Jersey (@AutumnAngeleus). Participants brought different perspectives to the event, including research, outreach, control, and surveillance, and based on their interests in mosquitoes (and other stuff) brought lively discussion to the topic.
Our live tweet had a couple of main goals: to comment on what the show got right and what it got wrong and to facilitate a wider discussion on mosquitoes (something we assumed would be difficult for a 90 minute television show). In both cases, we hoped our tweets would start the conversation, not replace it. Note that tweets surrounding the event can be found using #skeeter and via individual participant accounts.
What Mosquito Got Right
Mosquitoes are not all bad:
Yes, it's probably only a few dozen (< 1% of all mosquito species)
— Don Yee (@aquatic_insects) July 7, 2017
Some are actually beneficial:
You'll hear this 3,500 species of mosquitoes. Most don't bite people. This is Toxorhynchites @Mozziebites @vectorgen @AutumnAngelus #skeeter pic.twitter.com/A10k5sc6KR
— Don Yee (@aquatic_insects) July 7, 2017
Only females bite, but ALL #mosquitoes feed on nectar. #skeeter @vectorgen @Mozziebites @aquatic_insects
— Autumn Angelus (@AutumnAngelus) July 7, 2017
But the program delves into a popular question, “Should we just kill all mosquitoes?” And the answer is, well, complicated:
Great topic. Should we just "kill them all"? @Mozziebites @vectorgen @AutumnAngelus #skeeter
— Don Yee (@aquatic_insects) July 7, 2017
This is something I can agree on. Problem is what point are they no longer "invasive"? When do they become so integrated into the ecosystem?
— Don Yee (@aquatic_insects) July 7, 2017
It did stress that humans are the root of outbreaks via global travel and the movement of goods like tires:
Global tire trade brought us 2 invasives to the US. Aedes albopictus and Aedes japonicus. The latter is not currently a med threat #skeeter
— Don Yee (@aquatic_insects) July 7, 2017
However, control measures, especially when it comes to genetic engineering, remain controversial:
GM sterile mosquitoes is a great strategy. No non-target effects, won't persist, small footprint. I've loved it for >15 years #skeeter
— Jason Rasgon (@vectorgen) July 7, 2017
There is no rational reason to be afraid of Oxitec mosquitoes. All the hype is GM-phobia nonsense #skeeter
— Jason Rasgon (@vectorgen) July 7, 2017
Always a problem for mosquito control and outbreak management, mosquitoes tend to ignore jurisdictional boundaries! #skeeter https://t.co/uEefnuvgGP
— Dr Cameron Webb (@Mozziebites) July 7, 2017
Insecticides are critical; Aegypti breeds in houses How effective is arial spraying? #skeeter @AutumnAngelus @aquatic_insects @Mozziebites
— Jason Rasgon (@vectorgen) July 7, 2017
Proper control techniques (surveillance, scientific decisions, IPM) can help avoid this. https://t.co/a2ttqMpA8A
— Autumn Angelus (@AutumnAngelus) July 7, 2017
What Mosquito Got Wrong or Missed
Unfortunately, the show spent time implicating mosquitoes in the genus Culex (epsecially Cx. quinquefasciatus) as vectors for Zika, especially in Brazil. At present, there just is no data to support that:
OK, this is super controversial. Culex and Zika. @Mozziebites @vectorgen @AutumnAngelus #skeeter
— Don Yee (@aquatic_insects) July 7, 2017
See:
- “Lessons learned on Zika virus vectors,” PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, June 15, 2017
- “Culex mosquitoes do not transmit Zika virus, study finds,” ScienceDaily, September 22, 2016
Overall, the program hit the major diseases (Zika, dengue, chickungunya, yellow fever, West Nile, and malaria); however, that’s not the end of the road for mosquito-borne disease. Other pathogens potentially loom on the horizon:
Rift Valley fever virus. Nasty, lots of competent vectors and hosts
— Jason Rasgon (@vectorgen) July 7, 2017
Mayaro virus on the radar now for emergence #Skeeter
— Jason Rasgon (@vectorgen) July 7, 2017
O'Nyong Nyong historically caused a few small outbreaks, not associated with severe disease. Of course,that describes Zika pre-2014 #skeeter
— Jason Rasgon (@vectorgen) July 7, 2017
To be prepared, we need more data, especially for distributions on many important vectors. A recent update on Aedes aegypti by the CDC, for instance, is not as impressive as it might be given that some of the data is 20 years old.
Zika has been found in >25 mosquito species. Finding virus in a mosquito DOES NOT MEAN IT CAN TRANSMIT #skeeter
— Jason Rasgon (@vectorgen) July 7, 2017
Also, although the program interviewed prominent advocates for reducing mosquito-borne disease, such as Bill Gates, there was little emphasis on what lessons we’ve learned from past outbreaks or long-standing diseases:
Malaria was endemic in the USA less than 100 years ago #skeeter
— Jason Rasgon (@vectorgen) July 7, 2017
We are reactive, not proactive. Instead of spending small $ to prevent, we prefer to wait until disaster and spend $$$ #skeeter
— Jason Rasgon (@vectorgen) July 7, 2017
There are many native Anopheles mosquitoes in the USA that are able to transmit malaria. The only thing missing is the pathogen #skeeter
— Jason Rasgon (@vectorgen) July 7, 2017
Finally, there was little discussion on the potential effects of the threat posed by climate change for mosquitoes:
Could climate change be affecting mosquito distributions? A complex answer predicting future threats #skeeter https://t.co/DDM959MyhP https://t.co/HKMiuGKk7h
— Dr Cameron Webb (@Mozziebites) July 7, 2017
Thus, this was a good introduction to mosquitoes, a group of extremely important animals of which most of the public has little understanding. It would be beneficial if there were more shows like this and, with this in mind, I sent a tweet to the people at Discovery to ask about their fascination with sharks (a group that pales in comparison to mosquitoes for causing human deaths), and then I was reminded of something:
because it isn't nearly as much fun to watch Michael Phelps race a mosquito
— Isabel Ott (@DiagnosticChick) July 7, 2017
More about the participants:
- Cameron Webb, Ph.D.: https://cameronwebb.wordpress.com/about/
- Jason Rasgon, Ph.D.: https://rasgonlab.com/
- Donald Yee, Ph.D.: https://aquaticinsectecology.org/
Read more:
- Free Articles Provide Insight on the Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus
- Did the Malaria Parasite First Evolve in the Insect Vector or the Vertebrate Host?
- Some Facts About Florida’s Genetically Modified Mosquitoes.
- Controlling the Asian Tiger Mosquito, a Potential Zika Vector, is Possible but Difficult
- Could a Large-Scale Zika Outbreak Occur in the United States?
Donald A. Yee, Ph.D. (@aquatic_insects), is an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Southern Mississippi. He studies the ecology of medically important mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus, Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus) in the southeastern U.S. and in Puerto Rico.
Nothing was said on insect repellents, one of the better viable options to prevent vector-borne diseases. One product good for most
Reblogged this on IBHE Collaborative University.
It is great to see that colleague professionals analyzed MOSQUITO in detail and live tweeted during broadcasting. Happy to read that there were no errors (apart maybe from the Culex/Zika connection; but it was still mentioned as ‘iffy’ even in the doc). Yes indeed, wish we could do a series, but this doc alone costed 2 years to make.
Indeed, it would have been nice to go into other control tools, like repellents, trapping, larviciding with biologicals, other genetic control tools (like SIT), etc., but there wasn’t enough time. The original doc was 83 min, but it had to be cut down to 63.
Let’s hope that MOSQUITO serves as a wakeup call for those that need it.
We definitely wouldn’t want to disrupt the ecosystem by killing all mosquito species… We do want to kill those that pose a threat to our existence like Aedes and Anopheles.