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West Nile-toting mosquitoes found in Alvin
By Erin McKeon
The Facts
http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=a0adf266240bd27d
Published July 2, 2008
ALVIN ? Mosquito Control crews unable to eradicate a stubborn pool of West Nile-infected mosquitoes will take their assault to the air and underground.
The pool was found two weeks ago in the Alvin area, Brazoria County Mosquito Control Director Jim Ryan said, and was sprayed two times a night for three nights after it tested positive.
?We re-tested in that area last week and we tested negative,? Ryan said. ?However, we also send samples to the state health department of the pools of mosquitoes. We had a call (Tuesday) afternoon from the state health department that the mosquitoes we trapped in Alvin last week, two of those pools tested positive, while we tested negative.?
In an effort to completely eradicate West Nile Virus from the recurrent pool, Ryan said the mosquitoes will be attacked at their different stages in the life cycle. He said in addition to twice-nightly spraying for three nights in the area, the department will spray from an airplane and in sewers.
?In the larva cycles, we treat the water where they live, where they mature and stop their further growth at that point,? Ryan said. ?It?s a manpower-intensive, costly effort to do that, but we?re going to focus on the storm sewers and so forth up in that area. We?re also going to do the trucks that drive up to the manholes and pick up the manholes and spray down into the sewers.?
Ryan said people all over the county need to take precautions against mosquitoes by trying to stay inside from an hour before sunset to an hour after and wearing loose clothing that covers large areas of the body.
The use of bug repellents containing DEET also is recommended, as well as removing stagnant water from around the house, such as in bird baths or flower pots.
Leo O?Gorman, the director of the Brazoria County Health Department, said he has not heard of any human cases of West Nile Virus being found in Brazoria County.
Symptoms of West Nile Virus could include those associated with the flu, such as fever, headaches and body aches, nausea, vomiting and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach or back, according to the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.
West Nile Virus also was found June 24 in Angleton and treated with twice-nightly spraying for three nights after, Ryan said. That pool was re-tested Tuesday and tested negative for the virus.
?Because it came back negative, we?re going to move on because we have only limited resources for testing and we need to spread out across the county until we find something,? Ryan said. ?And if we find something, then we?ll focus on that area. If we clean it up, then we?ll move back out.?
A pool in Pearland tested positive for the virus in early June, but re-testing a week later came back negative, he said.
By Erin McKeon
The Facts
http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=a0adf266240bd27d
Published July 2, 2008
ALVIN ? Mosquito Control crews unable to eradicate a stubborn pool of West Nile-infected mosquitoes will take their assault to the air and underground.
The pool was found two weeks ago in the Alvin area, Brazoria County Mosquito Control Director Jim Ryan said, and was sprayed two times a night for three nights after it tested positive.
?We re-tested in that area last week and we tested negative,? Ryan said. ?However, we also send samples to the state health department of the pools of mosquitoes. We had a call (Tuesday) afternoon from the state health department that the mosquitoes we trapped in Alvin last week, two of those pools tested positive, while we tested negative.?
In an effort to completely eradicate West Nile Virus from the recurrent pool, Ryan said the mosquitoes will be attacked at their different stages in the life cycle. He said in addition to twice-nightly spraying for three nights in the area, the department will spray from an airplane and in sewers.
?In the larva cycles, we treat the water where they live, where they mature and stop their further growth at that point,? Ryan said. ?It?s a manpower-intensive, costly effort to do that, but we?re going to focus on the storm sewers and so forth up in that area. We?re also going to do the trucks that drive up to the manholes and pick up the manholes and spray down into the sewers.?
Ryan said people all over the county need to take precautions against mosquitoes by trying to stay inside from an hour before sunset to an hour after and wearing loose clothing that covers large areas of the body.
The use of bug repellents containing DEET also is recommended, as well as removing stagnant water from around the house, such as in bird baths or flower pots.
Leo O?Gorman, the director of the Brazoria County Health Department, said he has not heard of any human cases of West Nile Virus being found in Brazoria County.
Symptoms of West Nile Virus could include those associated with the flu, such as fever, headaches and body aches, nausea, vomiting and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach or back, according to the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.
West Nile Virus also was found June 24 in Angleton and treated with twice-nightly spraying for three nights after, Ryan said. That pool was re-tested Tuesday and tested negative for the virus.
?Because it came back negative, we?re going to move on because we have only limited resources for testing and we need to spread out across the county until we find something,? Ryan said. ?And if we find something, then we?ll focus on that area. If we clean it up, then we?ll move back out.?
A pool in Pearland tested positive for the virus in early June, but re-testing a week later came back negative, he said.