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Potentially Dangerous Type Of Mosquito Found On South Coast For First Time

An Aedes aegypti mosquito has been found in Ventura County for the first time. They have the potential to carry dangerous virus like yllow fever not normally found in California.

A tiny little mosquito normally found halfway around the world has turned up in Ventura County for the first time. 

It has health officials worried, because it has the ability to transmit tropical viruses normally not found here.

An Aedes aegypti mosquito was discovered in Simi Valley last Wednesday.  They are smaller than native mosquitoes, and bite during daylight areas. 

A trapping effort is underway in the area to try to determine if the mosquito as an isolated case, or if there are more in the area.

If you are bitten by a mosquito during the day, you can call the Ventura County Environmental Health Division Mosquito Complaint Hotline at (805) 658-4310 or find more information online.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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