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Mosquito-spread West Nile Virus Flares in Midtown Tucson
10.05.2006
An elderly woman has died and possibly as many as 20 others also have been diagnosed with West Nile Virus since a local outbreak began in early September.
The greatest concentration of cases is in area that includes some of District Five. This area of most concern is bounded on the south by Broadway, on the west by Swan Road, on the north by Pima Street, and on the east by Wilmot Road. The Pima County Health Department began distributing warning fliers door-to-door in this area on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The department ran an advertisement in a Sunday, Oct. 1, newspaper announcing the opening of a West Nile Virus hotline: 740-3191. People should call this number with concerns or to report the discovery of dead birds. The virus attacks birds and is often fatal to them.
The Health Department fliers, distributed in cooperation with the city of Tucson, advise people to dump any standing water around their homes, such as in flower pots, toys, buckets, old tires, or garbage cans. Folks also should be sure their window screens are intact, or should keep their windows closed tightly. Long pants and long-sleeve shirts, and the use of insect repellent, are advised for people who go outdoors between dusk and dawn.
West Nile Virus is transmitted only through the bites of carrier mosquitoes and cannot be caught from human-human or human to affected-animal interaction – the disease is known to affect horses as well as birds and humans. People with horses should be sure their horses are vaccinated against this virus. It can be fatal to elderly or infirm people, and it can require hospitalization for others.
The Pima County Health Department will keep the West Nile Virus hotline open for as long as necessary and will continue its mosquito monitoring program until the end of October.
First West Nile Mosquito of the Year is Found
08.07.2006
Pima
County Mosquito Hotline:
740-3191
The Pima County Health Department found the first mosquito in the county
this year to test positive for the West Nile virus in a trap collected on
July 27 from the Kino Detention Basin north of Tucson Electric Park and
University Physicians Healthcare Hospital at Kino.
The Health Department has been collecting mosquitoes from traps at more than 60 sites scattered around the county, and testing them for the deadly virus, since April. The July 27 trap contained 10 mosquitoes but only one tested positive for West Nile, said Patti Woodcock, a Health Department spokeswoman.
No West Nile virus cases have been reported in Pima County this year; Maricopa County has had three cases, but none fatal, she said. Last year one Pima County resident died from the virus.
Woodcock advises residents to avoid allowing water to pool anywhere around their homes because puddles can become breeding areas for mosquitoes in as few as three days. Even saucers under flower pots can become mosquito breeders, she said. Outdoor dog dishes should be emptied and refilled with fresh water at least twice a week.
For more more basic facts, prevention tips and other details, please
visit the Pima County Health Departments WEST NILE VIRUS site.
Click
Here »