West Nile mosquito pool found

Staff Reports

A mosquito pool testing positive for West Nile Virus was located near Meridian and Airport Business parks in northern Carson Valley.

The pool is one of a handful found in the Valley, according to Mosquito Control Officer Ron Lynch.

Lynch spent Monday notifying businesses in the parks and treating the pool with altosid briquettes and fogging the area.

"Last week we treated all the standing water in the business park by hand spraying the standing water and also using briquettes to continually alter the water stage of the mosquito so it will not mature as an adult," Lynch said in a letter to businesses and workers.

Lynch said there have been three reported cases in Douglas County, including that of Megan Most, who has been hospitalized.

He said the Nevada Division of Health won't give him a general idea where the cases have been contracted so he can spray.

"I've asked the state and they said 'all we're going to tell you is that it's in Douglas County,'" he said. "My son's a deputy and it's as if they told him he had to help someone but wouldn't tell them where they were."

A request has been made for an explanation of the state's policy on releasing where a person contracted the virus.

After news reports that Most might have contracted the disease in Indian Hills, Lynch said he treated the north county community.

A milder form of the disease was reported last week in a person over 50 years old, according to Martha Framsted, spokeswoman for the Nevada Division of Health.

A total of eight cases of West Nile Virus were detected in Nevada's 17 counties in July. In addition to one case in Douglas County, there were four in Humboldt County, two in Carson City and one in Washoe County.

Last year, only one case was reported in July.

"I can't emphasize strongly enough, the need to take precautions against biting mosquitoes," Framsted said.

Standing water is critical to successful breeding for mosquitoes and should be eliminated. Screens should be installed or repaired if necessary. Mosquito repellent should be used, especially in the evenings or early morning and long sleeves and pants are recommended during those periods, to keep mosquitoes at bay.

About one in 150 people infected with West Nile Virus will develop a severe form of the illness. Symptoms are high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis, and may last for several weeks, according to information from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga.

Up to 20 percent of those infected will have fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. Symptoms can last just a few days, but even healthy people have been sick for several weeks.

The vast majority, about 80 percent of those contracting the disease, will experience no symptoms.

Lynch is warning people to wear long sleeved shirts and long pants when they are outside and to wear insect repellent.