The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released estimated range maps for Aedes aegypti and albopictus mosquitoes by using a model that predicts possible geographic ranges for these mosquitoes in the contiguous United States. The new maps show CDC’s best estimate of the potential ranges of aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes in the contiguous United States. They show the likelihood (very low, low, moderate, or high) that these mosquitoes could survive and reproduce within the contiguous United States.
These maps, which were developed based on a publication in the Journal of Medical Entomology, include areas where mosquitoes are found or have been previously found; however, they do not show the number of mosquitoes within each area, nor do they indicate the risk of potential disease spread or risk of infection. Based on CDC’s model, CDC estimates that up to 77% of counties in the contiguous United States have suitable climate conditions for at least one of the types of mosquitoes that can transmit Zika to survive and reproduce, at least during the warm part of the year.
