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Asian Tiger Mosquito found in Wayne County

A female <em>Anopheles gambiae </em>mosquito feeds on human blood through a mosquito net.
Emily Lund
A female Anopheles gambiae mosquito feeds on human blood through a mosquito net.

If it seems like mosquitoes are particularly numerous right now, you’re probably right.

State health department spokesperson Lynn Sutfin says flooding rains and warm temps are perfect conditions for the bloodsuckers.

“Anytime you've got standing water around, you do have a good breeding environment for mosquitoes. So in cases where you have something that could be dumped out such as a bucket, a planter that's not being used or a kiddie pool that we definitely encourage folks to do that. Obviously when you have flooding that's a little bit of a heavy lift there.”

Sutfin says the larger Asian Tiger mosquito has been found in Wayne County. It’s a more tropical variety that can carry serious diseases like Zika and chikungunya. Warmer temperatures due to climate change have allowed the Asian Tiger to move northward into Michigan.

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