Topic: mosquitoes
Why mosquitoes prefer to bite some people over others
Rainy season tends to result in a surge in the mosquito population. The Mosquito Research and Control Unit and stepping up efforts to combat them.
Recent rainfall brings increased mosquito menace
There has been a surge in mosquito numbers across Grand Cayman and the Mosquito Research and Control Unit is increasing its response.
Nine local cases of dengue reported
Health officials have confirmed that nine people in Cayman have contracted dengue locally.
Cayman by numbers: Highest ever temperatures and record waste going to landfill
The Cayman Islands experienced the highest maximum temperature in 10 years during 2022, according to the latest statistics.
Rainfall brings new surge of mosquitoes
Recent downpours have led to a resurgence of mosquitoes, which is likely to worsen in the coming weeks, according to the Mosquito Research and Control Unit.
Surge in mosquitoes expected in coming days, MRCU warns
As inclement conditions are set to continue comes word from the Mosquito Research & Control Unit (MRCU) that it expects a significant increase in mosquito numbers by week's end.
MRCU director: Brace for more mosquito surges
Mosquito Research and Control Unit director Dr. Alan Wheeler says Cayman's mosquito problem is likely to continue if a second pilot is not found soon to help man the island's first line of defense against the surging insects.
Cayman on the run from swarming swamp mosquitoes
Hundreds of thousands of mosquito eggs that have lain dormant for years have hatched in recent weeks, causing a dramatic surge in the population of the biting insects.
MRCU planes down as mosquito population rises
The Mosquito Research and Control Unit has confirmed that both of its aerial spraying planes are currently out of commission and that the surge of mosquitoes is expected to increase over the next few days.
High number of mosquitos expected after unseasonal rainfall
The Mosquito Research and Control Unit is warning residents to brace themselves for an increase in mosquitos from Sunday evening, 26 March.
Tackle the mosquito ‘plague’
The recent surge in, what is now, the mosquito crisis in Cayman is a betrayal of the hard work and industry of the noble...
High tides leading to more mosquitoes
The Mosquito Research and Control Unit is warning the public to expect an increase in mosquito activity following recent high tides that caused flooding in the mangrove breeding areas of the black salt marsh mosquito.
Mosquito spraying under way
The Mosquito Research and Control Unit will be carrying out aerial and truck operations tonight (Monday, 3 Aug.).
Wet weather brings more mosquitoes
The Mosquito Research and Control Unit says it expects mosquito numbers to grow in the coming days.
MRCU testing mosquitoes that target blue iguanas
A new study being conducted by the Mosquito Research and Control Unit is targeting mosquitoes that feed on blue iguanas. The research project, which began in April this year, is a joint effort between the MRCU and Mississippi State University.
Cayman seeks new plan to combat mosquitoes
Cayman’s government is searching for a new solution to its mosquito problem.
Letter: MRCU responds to GeneWatch FOI release
New MRCU Director Jim McNelly Ph.D. says his team and Oxitec are in agreement on how, where and when to proceed with the evaluation. It will also be up to MRCU to evaluate what success will look like.
EDITORIAL – The revealing (and disturbing) MRCU/Oxitec emails
If it were not for Dr. Wheeler and MRCU Research Manager Fraser Allen, it seems likely that Oxitec’s claim that its program had led to a “62 percent suppression rate” of the disease-carrying Aedes aegypti population in the West Bay pilot area would have gone unchallenged by government officials.
GM mosquitoes
Today's editorial cartoon
More mosquitoes likely to follow heavy rains
The Mosquito Research and Control Unit says it is expecting a “significant emergence” of mosquitoes over the coming days due to heavy rains recently.
Genetically modified mosquitoes in Cayman swat wild population
Genetically modified mosquitoes have made a significant impact in reducing wild populations of the disease-spreading insects in the West Bay release area.
Heavy rainfall brings more mosquitoes
A recent spike in activity is the result of heavy rains in late September and early October, pushing mosquito populations higher. Only halfway through the month, total figures for trapped mosquitoes are already 8 percent higher than last October.
EDITORIAL – Taking a swat at Cayman’s mosquitoes
During the summer of 2016, an epidemic swept across the Western Hemisphere. We’re not referring to the Zika virus – no, not exactly – but the widespread panic among members of the population who feared that Zika would cause a generational tidal wave of birth defects.
Cayman records 20th local Zika case
Public health officials say they have confirmed 20 cases of locally transmitted Zika virus, the mosquito-borne illness that can cause severe birth defects when pregnant women contract the disease.
GM mosquitoes on track in West Bay trial
Residents of the Florida Keys go to the polls Nov. 8, deciding not just between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, but casting a vote on whether or not to test genetically modified mosquitoes on one small island near Key West.
50 years ago: Scope of mosquito issues highlighted
In the Oct. 19, 1966 edition of the Caymanian Weekly, a precursor of the Cayman Compass, news from George Town included: “Dr. M.E.C. Giglioli has informed the Caymanian that the Mosquito Research and Control Unit has recently been granted 41,329 pounds from Colonial Development and Welfare funds to cover capital equipment costs during its first two years of operation ending in April 1968."
The strategy
Our editorial cartoon.
A guide to Cayman’s public enemy No. 1: mosquitoes
The disease, disruption and dismay they cause, however, is world-class, beyond all proportion to their size. This is what you need to know about the seven genuses of mosquito that call the Cayman Islands home.
EDITORIAL – The mysterious threat of Zika
The Public Health Department’s upcoming series on the Zika virus may be just what the doctor ordered.
Oxitec’s GM mosquitoes starting to show impact
Researchers studying the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in West Bay say they are starting to see the gene show up in mosquito larvae, meaning those mosquitoes likely will not survive to adulthood.
Mosquito Unit works overtime in Zika fight
The staff at Cayman’s Mosquito Research and Control Unit has been putting in long days as they fight to stop Zika transmission in Grand Cayman.
Cayman needs more info on Zika
Having worked in the field of maternal and child health in Africa for many years, I am greatly concerned as to the general response by the government to Zika.
Frieden and Fauci: How not to fight the Zika virus
The Zika virus presents an unprecedented threat to the people of our nation, especially pregnant women.
Two more Zika cases confirmed in George Town
Two more people, both of George Town, have tested positive for the Zika virus, according to the Public Health Department. There are now five confirmed cases of Zika in the Cayman Islands, all of which have been in George Town.
Mosquito Unit works to protect pregnant women as Zika fears grow
Some pregnant women have left the Cayman Islands and others are putting off moves to Grand Cayman now that there are known local Zika transmissions. But leaving a job and traveling overseas is not an option for many women who are pregnant and couples trying to conceive.
Public Health confirms third local Zika case
Public health officials Thursday confirmed a third local case of the Zika virus, all of which have occurred in George Town.
Most support GM mosquito initiative, says survey
A new government survey found most people on Grand Cayman support the ongoing trial of genetically modified mosquitoes in West Bay.
Cautions for pregnant women as Zika found locally
The mosquito-borne Zika virus is perhaps best known and most feared for causing severe birth defects in babies whose mothers contract the disease while pregnant.
Two local Zika cases confirmed
Two people in George Town are Cayman’s first official cases of locally transmitted Zika, according to public health officials. The islands have had six cases of Zika imported by people visiting other countries, but these are the first reported incidents of the virus being acquired locally.
Cayman reports first local Zika case
The Public Health Department late Monday confirmed the first locally transmitted case of Zika in the Cayman Islands. Previously, there had been seven documented cases that were contracted outside of Cayman, but public health officials confirmed that a man in George Town is the first person confirmed to became infected with Zika in the islands.
US gives green light to GM mosquito tests in Florida
As Oxitec and the Mosquito Research and Control Unit ramp up releases of genetically modified mosquitoes in West Bay, regulators in the U.S. gave the company the green light to test the GM mosquitoes on an island in the Florida Keys.
EDITORIAL – Let’s keep our pests in proper perspective
Oy, and you think Cayman has problems? We’re referring, of course, to our overabundance of green iguanas, ubiquitous lionfish, and those damned female mosquitoes.
EDITORIAL – Keeping Cayman free of threatening ‘Zika mosquitoes’
Given the choice between the risks associated with “natural” Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (which carry nasty viruses like Zika, chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever) and the potential risks of “genetically modified” Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (which are engineered to reduce the wild population) – we find ourselves more and more inclined to give the GM mosquitoes a chance.
Mosquito ‘control’ that doesn’t
We cannot keep pumping insecticide into the environment and hope to win against the mozzies.
Judge rejects GM mosquito review
A Grand Court judge on Monday refused an application for a judicial review that could have stopped the planned release of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in West Bay.
NEW: Judge denies request to halt GM mosquito release
A Grand Court judge Monday refused an application for a judicial review to stop the planned release of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in West Bay.
Judge to rule Monday on release of GM mosquitoes
A judge will deliver her ruling on Monday on whether millions of genetically modified mosquitoes can be released in West Bay.
Judicial review of GM mosquito plan gets under way
A lawyer representing opponents of a planned release of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in West Bay told a judicial review Tuesday that a “proper risk assessment” of the project had not been done.
House-to-house survey begins on mosquito plan
Biotechnology company Oxitec, in collaboration with the Mosquito Research and Control Unit, is conducting an island-wide survey on the level of awareness about mosquito-borne diseases, including Zika, chikungunya and dengue.
Mosquito release halted by legal challenge
The planned release of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in West Bay, scheduled to begin Thursday morning, has been halted after a judge granted...
UPDATE – Legal action pauses GM mosquito release
Opponents of the planned release of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in West Bay are taking legal action in an effort to halt the operation, which is scheduled to begin Thursday.
Inside the mosquito ‘factory’
Ahead of the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in West Bay, scheduled to begin Thursday, the Mosquito Research and Control Unit and U.K. biotech firm Oxitec invited members of the media for an inside look of the new lab, where half a million male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are being bred.
Six suspected Zika cases await results
Public Health Department officials said Wednesday they are awaiting test results on six suspected cases of the Zika virus.
EDITORIAL – Things we detest: Red tape and mosquito bites
The planned release of genetically modified mosquitoes was delayed because — read carefully — the Cayman Islands government was unable to obtain a government permit.
Zika fears ‘impacting tourism’
Fear over the spread of the Zika virus in the Caribbean has been blamed for a decline in stay-over tourism in Grand Cayman this year.
West Bay MLAs call for GM mosquito release delay
West Bay opposition MLAs are calling for the suspension of plans to release millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in their district.
Cayman ‘Zika free,’ health officials say
The recent case of Zika possibly linked to Cayman was not spread by local mosquitoes, but was sexually transmitted by a tourist’s partner from St. Maarten, the Cayman Islands Public Health Department said Wednesday.
GM mosquitoes too risky
Tourist dumbfounded by the government-approved genetically modified mosquito program.
Petition calls for halt to GM mosquito release
More than 570 people have signed an online petition calling for the Cayman Islands government to suspend plans to release millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in the district of West Bay.
Tourist tests positive for Zika
A stayover tourist tested positive for Zika after returning home, the Public Health Department said Friday. The department has not confirmed whether the person contracted Zika in Cayman, but this is the first case of the virus, which can cause birth defects in babies from infected mothers, associated with Cayman.
50 years ago: Mosquitoes and agriculture are hot topics
In the June 1, 1966 edition of the Caymanian Weekly, a precursor of the Cayman Compass, Bodden Town correspondent Haig Bodden wrote:
MRCU conducting aerial operations this week
That low-flying aircraft that might buzz about directly overhead this week is not in difficulty; it’s just the Mosquito Research and Control Unit conducting its seasonal aerial operations in an effort to reduce the size of the mosquito populations on Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands.
