SARASOTA, Fla. — Mosquitoes kill nearly a million people in the world every year according to the World Health Organization. For that reason, they are called the world's deadliest creatures.
Across the country, there are growing concerns about mosquito-borne illnesses as reports of West Nile Virus, Zika, malaria, and even dengue fever have returned. A man in New Hampshire died this week from the rare Eastern Equine Encephalitis also known as EEE.
Ten cases of rare sloth fever were also reported in Florida. Sarasota was also ground zero for local malaria cases last year.
In addition, all the rain and standing water have brought more mosquitoes, and as more folks are expected outdoors for the Labor Day holiday, local officials have ramped up efforts to tackle the issue and get rid of harmful mosquitoes before they bite anyone.
While the specific mosquitoes that carry EEE and sloth fever are low in number, officials say this is peak disease season for risks to the public including for West Nile virus.
"This time every single year we're going see about 32 cases in our sentinel chickens and not humans but in our sentinel chickens because that's a natural part of the cycle. It's very unnatural for humans to be infected," Wade Brennan with Sarasota County Mosquito Management said.
With plenty of stagnant water from Debby, mosquito treatment efforts continue ramping up in Sarasota where seven local cases of malaria were discovered and treated last year.
"We have a lot more mosquitoes and so we're doing a lot more aerial missions and also truck missions and those larva sighting efforts that are continuous all year round," Brennan added.
Already, doctors have treated more than 200 cases of West Nile in about 30 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
"1 in 150 People who get infected get a more serious form that involves the central nervous system, you can get inflammation of the brain and the membrane that lines the spinal cord and that is a much more serious situation there," Dr. Jon LaPook, CBS News chief medical correspondent, said.
"It's a mosquito-borne illness so you try and avoid mosquitoes. Dawn and dusk is when they tend to bite. Wear clothing that covers your skin, you can get insect repellent, and get rid of standing water," LaPook added.
Some Sarasota neighbors are already adapting to the season and making changes.
"I don't walk my dog at night. I walk the dog during the day. On cool breezy days like this, I get out and enjoy it because that keeps things moving and we're less likely to get bit by a mosquito," Sarasota resident Karen Martinez said.
This year, according to the Florida Department of Health, twelve cases of malaria were reported in individuals who visited malaria-endemic countries but no reports yet about any cases that developed locally, so far.