With the mosquito season well advanced and dead crows showing up infected with West Nile Virus, everyone should find the following articles of particular importance:
 | West Nile Virus - Some Tips |
| How to Control Mosquitoes and Prevent West Nile Virus |
| Web Sites of Interest |
The list of World Wide Web links that follows it is also of interest. You will also want to take a look at Montgomery County's Checklist of Neighborhood Mosquito Breeding Areas. Our thanks to neighbor Elizabeth Tucker, who suggested this page on our web site and who provided some of the links.
Human illness from West Nile virus is rare, even in
areas where the virus has been reported. The chance that any one person is going
to become ill from a mosquito bite is low.
Q. What can I do to reduce my risk of
becoming infected with West Nile virus?
A. Here are preventive measures that you
and your family can take:
Protect yourself from mosquito bites:
· Apply
insect repellent sparingly to exposed skin. The more DEET a repellent contains
the longer time it can protect you from mosquito bites. A higher percentage of
DEET in a repellent does not mean that your protection is better—just that it
will last longer. DEET concentrations higher than 50% do not increase the length
of protection. Choose a repellent that provides protection for the amount of
time that you will be outdoors.
o Repellents
may irritate the eyes and mouth, so avoid applying repellent to the hands of
children.
o Whenever you use an insecticide or insect repellent, be sure to read and
follow the manufacturer's DIRECTIONS FOR USE, as printed on the product.
o For detailed information about using repellents, see the Insect Repellent Use and Safety questions.
o Spray
clothing with repellents containing permethrin or DEET since mosquitoes may bite
through thin clothing. Do not apply repellents containing permethrin directly to
exposed skin. If you spray your clothing, there is no need to spray repellent
containing DEET on the skin under your clothing.
o When
possible, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants whenever you are outdoors.
o Place
mosquito netting over infant carriers when you are outdoors with infants.
o Consider
staying indoors at dawn, dusk, and in the early evening, which are peak mosquito
biting times.
o Install
or repair window and door screens so that mosquitoes cannot get indoors.
Help reduce the number of mosquitoes in areas
outdoors where you work or play, by draining sources of standing water. In this
way, you reduce the number of places mosquitoes can lay their eggs and breed.
· At least
once or twice a week, empty water from flower pots, pet food and water dishes,
birdbaths, swimming pool covers, buckets, barrels, and cans.
· Check for
clogged rain gutters and clean them out.
· Remove
discarded tires, and other items that could collect water.
· Be sure
to check for containers or trash in places that may be hard to see, such as
under bushes or under your home.
Note: Vitamin B and "ultrasonic" devices are
NOT effective in preventing mosquito bites.
New! Kids can
learn how to protect themselves from mosquito bites on "The
Buzz-z-z-z on West Nile Virus" (on BAM!, the CDC site for kids).
Q. What can be done to prevent outbreaks
of West Nile virus?
A. Prevention and control of West Nile virus and other
arboviral diseases is most effectively accomplished through integrated vector
management programs. These programs should include surveillance for West Nile
virus activity in mosquito vectors, birds, horses, other animals, and humans,
and implementation of appropriate mosquito control measures to reduce mosquito
populations when necessary. Additionally, when virus activity is detected in an
area, residents should be alerted and advised to increase measures to reduce
contact with mosquitoes. Details about effective prevention and control of West
Nile virus can be found in CDC's
Guidelines for Surveillance, Prevention, and Control
(286 KB, 111 pages).
Q. Is there a vaccine against West Nile
encephalitis?
A. No, but several companies are working towards
developing a vaccine.
Q. Where can I get information about the
use of pesticide sprays that are being used for mosquito control?
A. The federal agency responsible for pesticide
evaluation is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). See the
EPA Web site at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/skeeters.htm for
detailed answers to the questions about pesticides used for mosquito control.
Sources for this article:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile
Other sources of information:
http://edcp.org/html/mosquito.html
and http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/index.htm.
by Jim Fary
As Chair of the Conservation Committee of the Montgomery Group of the Sierra Club, I was invited by the County's Department of Health and Human Services to dialogue on how best to prevent the spread of West Nile Virus.
Other County Agencies and environmental groups were also part of the dialogue on West Nile Virus. Here is what we learned and our conclusions and recommendations for controlling mosquitoes and preventing West Nile Virus (WNV):
| WNV is a mosquito borne encephalitis that can be a serious disease,
especially in people that have compromised immune systems. For most people
however, it is like a case of the flu. |
| WNV is endemic in Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Europe. It
reached New York City in 1999 and has now spread as far south as Florida and
is spreading west. It is believed that it will be endemic in all of North
America in a few years. |
| WNV is spread by birds that have been bitten by infected
mosquitoes. |
| The consensus of the Montgomery County dialogue on WNV was that
spraying will not stop the disease and may do more harm to human health and
the environment than the disease. The potential for harming human health and
the environment is greatest if homeowners do the spraying themselves. If
spraying ever becomes necessary, it will be done by professionally certified
sprayers. |
| The major carrier of WNV is the common Northern House Mosquito (NHM)
that usually bites at dusk or dawn. The NHM is a mosquito that is associated
with human habitation. Its usual range is not more than 100 yards from where
it was hatched. Also becoming prevalent in Montgomery County is the Asian
Tiger Mosquito (ATM). It is much smaller than the NHM and bites during the
day time. It was accidentally introduced into the US a few years ago and is
rapidly becoming associated with human habitation. |
| There was unanimous agreement by all members of the Montgomery Dialogue
Group that the best way to control mosquitos associated with human
habitation was to deprive them of the habitat that they need in order to
reproduce. |
| By far the most common breeding ground for the NHM (and the exclusive breeding ground for the ATM) is standing stagnant water in containers. - Anything that can hold 1/4 inch of water for a week is a potential mosquito breeding source. The following is a list of common backyard breeding sites, each of which is capable of holding 1/4 inch of standing water for a week, long enough for mosquitoes to breed: |
| tires (especially conducive to breeding mosquitoes) |
| buckets, bottle caps |
| Flower pot saucers |
| bird baths |
| tarps |
| wading pools |
| clogged gutters |
| inoperable swimming pools/hot tubs |
| toys, especially plastic toys |
| trash cans/lids |
| dripping faucets/hoses/window air conditioners |
| tree stumps and holes |
| pet food bowls |
| ornamental ponds without fish or mechanical circulation of water |
| ditches/holes |
| bases of basketball stands and patio umbrella stands |
| fast food containers and littered cans and bottles |
| corrugated drain pipe (fasten screen to end). |
So, if you want to prevent West Nile Virus and avoid unpleasant mosquito bites for yourself and your neighbors, simply DUMP STANDING WATER and don't let new water get into the container. Your neighbors will all thank you for your cooperation.
| For more information on West Nile Virus and mosquitoes see www.mosquito.askdep.com |
| To receive information via email from Montgomery County Public Health
Services, go to www.emontgomery.org/hhs
. |
| Or if you have further questions call the Disease Control Program at
240-777-1755. |
| The State of Pennsylvania had a very useful site at: http://www.westnile.state.pa.us.
|
| Maryland has information at: http://edcp.org/html/west_nile.html |
| For information on Mosquitoes and Mosquito repellents visit the
American College of Physicians Web site: "Mosquitoes
and mosquito repellents: A clinician's guide" (Mark S. Fradin, MD.
Annals of Internal Medicine. June 1, 1998;128:931-940). You can also
find information
on insect repellents containing DEET
at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Web site. |
| For information on Mosquito borne encephalitis see: http://edcp.org/html/mosquito.html |
| For more information on West Nile Virus in question and answer form,
check out the Centers for Disease Control web site at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/q&a.htm
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