Climate change may bring another mosquito-borne illness to U.S.

This caught my eye, and it doesn't seem it's posted here yet.

THURSDAY, Jan. 3 (HealthDay News) -- It's possible that a serious mosquito-borne virus -- with no known vaccine or treatment -- could migrate from Central Africa and Southeast Asia to the United States within a year, new research suggests. The chances of a U.S. outbreak of the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) varies by season and geography, with those regions typified by longer stretches of warm weather facing longer periods of high risk, according to the researchers' new computer model.

Seems funny to me that the "top-three hot zones" they modeled are all on the east coast whn the source is in Asia.

The study analyzed possible outbreak scenarios in three U.S. locales. In 2013, the New York region is set to face its highest risk for a CHIKV outbreak during the warm months of August and September, the analysis suggests. By contrast, Atlanta's highest-risk period was identified as longer, beginning in June and running through September. Miami's consistent warm weather means the region faces a higher risk all year. "Warmer weather increases the length of the period of high risk," Ruiz-Moreno said. "This is particularly worrisome if we think of the effects of climate change over [average] temperatures in the near future."

Source

Anyhow, thought this was interesting and something to look forward to in the coming warmer months. Ha.

ETA Link:
wwwnc.cdc.gov... (emergence in other places, Italy in 2006, seems to say infection is from human to human or traveler borne?) Newer studies now saying mosquito?

Guess it's both: www.cdc.gov...

That's no good. Thanks for the heads up, haven't heard about this.

Electric swatter, anyone?