Renewed effort to destroy dangerous mosquito found in Menlo Park neighborhood
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- There's a renewed effort to get rid of a dangerous mosquito known for transmitting diseases, including the Zika virus.
Those mosquitoes have been discovered in Menlo Park. Holy Cross Cemetery is essentially ground zero for the mosquito. It came to the area and spread throughout the University Heights neighborhood.
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Aedes aegypti mosquitoes can carry diseases like Dengue fever and Zika virus.
"That's pretty frightening. You don't expect that to be here you expect that to be in other parts of the world, not Menlo Park," said Sahil Josh of Menlo Park.
Aedes aegypti arrived three years ago. Experts think a family must have moved to the area from a more tropical region and the mosquito laid eggs in their potted plant before they left.
Once they arrived in Menlo Park, the eggs hatched and the mosquitoes thrived. But these mosquitoes aren't like most other types.
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Aedes aegypti prefer to feed specifically on humans. They're active in the day time too and not just at dusk or dawn. They bite different people over and over again.
"Residents of Menlo Park should be concerned about the presence of the invasive mosquito because we would like to eradicate it from our county," said Megan Caldwell of the San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control.
Aedes aegypti eggs were last found in May. That's still worrying many in the neighborhood, who fear the mosquitoes could bite an infected person.
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"If someone is living, or coming from say Brazil or somewhere, comes to our neighborhood and this person is bitten by this mosquito, it can easily be transmitted," said Annette Nasr, a Menlo Park resident.
Mosquito control officials insist the chances of that happening are very low. Still, they want the mosquito gone. The best way to do that is to get rid of standing water.
Click here for full coverage on the Zika virus.
