Although there are only occasional cases of malaria and dengue fever in the United States, mosquitoes here can still cause illness and death in people and animals.  Some of the mosquito-borne diseases we are concerned with are:

• St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE)
• Western Equine Encephalomyelitis (WEE)
• Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE)
• dog heartworm
• West Nile Virus (WNV)

Newly approaching diseases are

• Dengue Fever
• Chikungunya

There are about 2,500 different species of mosquitoes worldwide, 53 species in California and 10 species in the Antelope Valley.  The "house mosquito" (Culex quinquefasciatus) and the "encephalitis mosquito" (Culex tarsalis) are the most common species in the Antelope Valley.  They are both capable of transmitting West Nile Virus to animals and humans.