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Latest
Mosquito News!
8/7/02
La.
feverish with West Nile worry
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-08-06-west-nile-usat_x.htm
7/24/02
West
Nile Virus Has Spread to Texas, Oklahome and Nebraska
Link to aricle here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,58130,00.html
6/19/02
CLEVELAND -- West Nile virus has made its
return to the United States this summer. The mosquito-borne disease
has already been reported in a number of states and other states have
begun preparing for its arrival. Here are the latest West Nile virus
developments from throughout the U.S.
FLORIDA. With signs of mosquito-borne encephalitis already surfacing
around the state, Florida health officials are warning people to avoid
insect bites and to clear their properties of stagnant water, which
allows the bugs to breed. Sentinel chickens in eight counties -- including
Orange, Volusia and Seminole -- have turned up positive for either West
Nile or Eastern equine virus so far in 2002.
The state also has confirmed this year's first human case of Eastern
equine encephalitis in a 9-year-old from Highlands County. While it's
not unusual to see a bout of Eastern equine in June, health officials
say they still don't know what to expect from its sister virus, West
Nile. That virus made its debut in Florida last summer, eventually infecting
hundreds of birds and horses, and causing at least 11 people to fall
ill. They say once West Nile infiltrates a region, it is a permanent
resident. (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
HOUSTON.
A blue jay found in Harris County, Texas, contracted West Nile virus
-- the first case found in Texas, according to the Harris County Health
Department. The infected bird was found in northwest Houston, near Gessner
and Hammerly. "This is the first recorded incident of West Nile
virus in Texas. We have been taking our dead birds down to UTMB in Galveston
for about a year now," said Dr. Ray Parsons with the Harris County
Mosquito Control District. "It's veryimportant that people throughout
the county, not just in these areas wherewe're finding the dead birds
now, but throughout the county, start thinking about mosquitoes and
protecting themselves a little bit."
West Nile virus is spread by mosquitoes to birds, horses and people,
and it can be deadly, health officials said. Parsons added that there's
a possibility that the Asian Tiger mosquito, which is a daytime biter,
might be a vector of WNV. (Source: KPRC Click2Houston.com)
OHIO, INDIANA & KENTUCKY. Tri-state health officials are
on alert after a bird tested positive for the West Nile virus. The dead
blue jay was found in Warren County, Ohio, by resident Gina Seifert.
Since the bird tested positive, Seifert and some of her neighbors have
put up mosquito traps in their yards, which are checked every few days
by the health department officials. Mosquitoes pick up the virus from
dead birds and can then transmit it to humans through bites. Health
officials are warning homeowners to pay special attention to standing
water. The health department is sending out letters urging people in
the region to take precautions, Daniels reported. Frozen mosquito samples
are being sent to Columbus on a regular basis to check for the virus.
None of the mosquitoes have turned up with the disease, Daniels reported.
(Source: ChannelCincinnati.com)
NORTHEAST
OHIO. The
Cuyahoga County Health Department sprayed a square-mile section of southern
Garfield Heights, Ohio, where a pool of mosquitoes that tested positive
for the West Nile virus was discovered earlier this month. Stepped-up
surveillance turned up more than 300 egg-bearing female mosquitoes in
two separate traps, persuading health officials to thin the population
with insecticide. (Source: Cleveland.com)
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