John Lindblom – Record-Bee staff
LAKEPORT After two years of testing positive for the West Nile virus, it is clear that the mosquito-transmitted disease is in Lake County to stay, says Art Colwell, general manager of the county”s Vector Control agency.
Already detected in seven California counties this year, Colwell warns that WNV will become an increasing threat here with the arrival of consistently warm temperatures.
“There were some natural barriers mountains and so forth that delayed its arrival in Lake County before, but now (infectious mosquitoes) are over-wintering here,” Colwell said. “They hide out over the winter in culverts, barns and abandoned sheds, which is what they”ve done for thousands of years. As the weather warms up it (WNV) is more conducive to the transfer to birds.”
According to Colwell, there are 22 known species of mosquitoes in Lake County and not all live through the winter. But the known carriers of WNV do, he said.
Birds that are particularly susceptible to the WNV deadly strain that claimed the lives of 19 Californians last year are members of the “corvus” genus, which includes common ravens, the American crow, the yellow-billed magpie and certain species of jays.
Particularly lethal to horses which have a 40 percent mortality rate when infected by WNV, Colwell said there were 10 documented cases involving Lake County horses in 2005, which was more than the year before. There were no human deaths resulting from the disease in the county.
Colwell said that humans who survive being infected by WNV may suffer from the symptoms and neurological effects for more than a year.
He listed the following precautions for residents to reduce the threat of being bitten by a virus-carrier mosquito.
Inspect your property to ensure against standing water that can produce mosquito larvae, such as five-gallon buckets and unused wading or swimming pools. (Note: A swimming pool that has filtration chlorine treatment will not produce mosquitoes.)
Ensure that doors and windows have screens to prevent mosquitoes from entering your home.
Most mosquitoes bite between dawn and dusk, so wear long-sleeved shirts and full-length trousers and apply insect repellent if you”re outdoors during that time.
Horse owners and handlers should make sure that each horse has the WNV vaccine and up-to-date booster shots.
Contact John Lindblom at jlwordsmith@mchsi.com.
