New Mexico launches statewide mosquito surveillance to track disease risk
West Nile-infected mosquitoes turned up near the Rio Grande in Bernalillo County, as state health leaders began tracking where the virus spreads.
West Nile-infected mosquitoes were detected in Bernalillo County on June 23. New Mexico health officials began a statewide surveillance program to map where mosquito species are spreading and which viruses they may carry.
The infected mosquitoes were collected during routine monitoring near the Rio Grande and tested through the University of New Mexico Center for Global Health. The City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County jointly run the local mosquito control program, and the new state system should help sharpen the timing of alerts, spraying, testing and personal precautions. As of June 23, New Mexico had not reported any human West Nile cases in 2026.
At the local level, the mosquito picture has been mixed. Albuquerque’s Environmental Health Department has been watching activity closely while dry conditions and a drying river have reduced mosquitoes in some places, even as pockets of activity remain. City specialist Nick Pederson said some species are using neighborhoods more often, which increases the number of people who can be bitten and exposed.
State veterinarian Erin Phipps said New Mexico has more than 40 mosquito species, but officials still do not know enough about which ones are circulating in different regions or when viruses are active inside them. The new statewide program is aimed at filling that gap by tracking species, population changes and disease threats across the state.
The broader surveillance push has been in motion for months at the Legislature. Senate Bill 79, introduced Jan. 22, would have given the New Mexico Department of Health $2 million from the general fund for mosquito surveillance, prevention and mitigation. The bill analysis cited 27 human West Nile cases in 2024 and 51 in 2025. The bill died in the Senate API process.
West Nile virus disease is nationally notifiable and is tracked by the CDC through ArboNET, which includes mosquitoes, birds, animals and human cases. Residents should use EPA-approved insect repellent, wear long sleeves and pants at dawn and dusk, and dump standing water where mosquitoes breed.
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