Feeding Deer Corn With Tick-Control Drug Shows Promise in New Study
A proof-of-concept study shows the potential of feeding wild white-tailed deer corn treated with moxidectin, a derivative of ivermectin that eliminates ticks. Deer are key hosts in tick lifecycles, and systemic treatment could aid in reducing tick abundances. And, unlike ivermectin, moxidectin in deer meat may be safely consumed with no required delay.
Mosquito Migration: Study Finds More High-Altitude Dispersal of Disease Vectors in Africa
Following the discovery that mosquitoes can ride high-altitude winds to travel long distances, further research is adding to both the scope and variety of species engaged in such migrations—factors sure to complicate efforts to curb transmission of malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases in Africa.
Mosquito Populations Linked Across Further Distances Than the Viruses They Carry
In an analysis of mosquito sampling across 20 years in Connecticut, mosquito populations were often correlated at sites 10 kilometers apart and sometimes as far as 40 kilometers apart. But the same data showed the presence of mosquito-borne viruses rarely correlated across distances more than 5 kilometers, complicating potential approaches to managing mosquitoes and the risk of vector-borne disease.
Another Non-Native Mosquito Species Adds to Growing List in Florida
Mosquito researchers in Florida report the presence in the state of Culex lactator, a species previously known from Central and South America. The arrival adds to the growing list of non-native mosquito species finding their way into Florida—a worrying trend for public-health entomologists.