Summer is peak tick and mosquito season, and the insects may pose a particularly acute threat this year, experts say. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert about the first locally acquired cases of malaria in the United States in 20 years, detected in Florida and Texas.
Mosquitoes thrive in hot, humid conditions, so the season’s high temperatures aren’t helping: Blistering heat is blanketing Texas, with heat warnings and advisories in effect for a dozen states. A report published last month from the research organization Climate Central found that the number of annual “mosquito days” — defined as days with an average relative humidity of 42% or higher and temperatures of 50 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit — have increased since 1979 in more than 70% of the U.S. locations studied.
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“A lot of work in the 20th century went into eradicating malaria from the U.S., involving a lot of things that might not have been environmentally friendly,” said Dr. Ryan Miller, an infectious disease specialist at the Cleveland Clinic. “But having it reintroduced into the U.S. kind of raises a red flag.”
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