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Mosquitoes carry West Nile Virus
After last month, West Nile virus positive mosquitoes have been found in the Los Angeles County; now they seem also to have spread in Orange County.
Earlier this month the first positive mosquito samples for West Nile virus have been found. According to Jared Dever from the county’s vector control district, both of them are from La Habra and Seal Beach.
Until now, no one reported any confirmed cases of human infection in California. However, after two birds have been submitted and tested earlier this week, scientists found that they were carrying the virus.
Even if human cases usually start in the late of May and the beginning of June, the infected birds gave everyone enough reasons to panic. During the last two years, a wave of confirmed cases was reported in Orange County, which is very unusual according to Dever.
The statistics have shown that there were around 300 cases in 2014, and almost 100 in 2015. Plus, a total of 17 people did not manage to pull through. Scientists haven’t found the cause of this increase yet, but there might be some possibilities.
According to Dever, the origin of the entire problem might be related to weather or maybe a profusion of mosquito breeding sources which are not known to the district. All this situation has determined the officials of the district to take measures. They requested people to be very cautious as the breeding season of the mosquitoes will start soon.
Plus, they advised everyone to check their yards regularly for any standing water and to wear insects repellant at all times when they are outside their houses.
Furthermore, the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District will meet Thursday afternoon to decide what are the best solutions to deal with this problem. A program to educate the public was already funded and established but it will not be approved until July.
Still, Dever believes that informing people is of the utmost importance because the risk of infection would significantly drop off if everyone knew how to fight against the mosquitoes.
The district does not believe that aerial spraying is a viable solution for the moment. However, they will reevaluate this decision in case things reach epidemic proportions. According to Dever, even if such measures are not necessary yet, their best bet would be to inform people so that they could prevent any future West Nile virus cases due to mosquitoes.
Image Source:Wikipedia
