Southern Seven Health Department issued the following announcement on May. 3.
As warmer weather approaches, mosquito season begins!
Beginning the week of May 24th, our Environmental Health Staff will begin the annual trapping and testing of mosquitoes throughout the lower seven counties in Illinois and will continue through the Fall.
The mosquitoes that are trapped are then tested for West Nile Virus (WNV). WNV is transmitted through the bite of a house mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding from an infected bird. If you see a sick or dying crow, blue jay, robin, or other perching bird, please call (618) 634-2297 to report it. (Please do not report birds that have died of natural causes)
Please note: there are no vaccines to prevent or medications to treat West Nile Virus in people but you can reduce your risk of WNV by following the three "R's": Reduce, Repel, and Report:
• REDUCE - make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut. Eliminate, or refresh each week, all sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires, and any other containers.
• REPEL - when outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a light-colored, long-sleeved shirt, and apply insect repellent that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR 3535 according to label instructions. Consult a physician before using repellents on infants. Do not use products containing oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) or para-menthane-diol (PMD) on children under 3 years old. Do not apply insect repellent to a child’s hands, eyes, mouth, cuts, or irritated skin. Spray insect repellent onto your hands and then apply to a child’s face.
• REPORT – report locations where you see water sitting stagnant for more than a week such as roadside ditches, flooded yards, and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes. The local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito eggs.
For more information, please contact Miranda Adams, Environmental Health Services Director for Southern Seven Health Department at (618) 634-2297, ext. 9114.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Southern Seven Health Department
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