West Nile found in Island 'skeeters

Texas City Sun
Published July 29, 2004
By: Laura Huchzermeyer

John Marshall, director of the Galveston County Mosquito Control District, said the infected insects were collected at a location in the center of the island during a regular sweep of county mosquito traps earlier this month. Test results sent from the state did not confirm positive testing until Monday.

In order to curb the problem and reduce the risk of the virus spreading to humans, the agency is increasing the testing and spraying of mosquitoes, he said

“This is the time of year that we expect to find positive pools of mosquitoes,” Marshall said. “(West Nile) is here, and it’s going to be here. We will probably find more positive pools. It’s like the sun coming up the next day. It’s going to happen.”

Marshall said the Culex mosquito is the most likely type to carry the virus in Galveston County. He said the species is one of about 25 other types of mosquitoes that buzz around the Gulf Coast.

“The Culex tend to come out at night, and they really like to live in sewers or pools of water with dead leaves,” he said.

Kurt Koopman, public information officer for the Galveston County Health District, said no cases of West Nile have been reported in horses, birds or humans in the county this year.

But because the virus is first contracted by birds and then passed on the mosquitoes, Koopman said it is likely that there are infected birds in the area as well.

The most susceptible kinds of birds to West Nile are blue jays, hawks and cardinals. If residents find one of these birds dead, Koopman said they should call the Health District at (409) 938-2345 for information on how to have it tested for the virus.

So far this year, only two West Nile cases in humans have been reported in Texas, including a man in Vidor who died from the infection in June and a North Houston man who contracted the virus last week. He is expected to survive and is now home recovering from a mild fever and rash.

Texans have been at risk since the virus first hit the state in 2002 — that year 202 people were infected by the infection which causes people to suffer from severe flu-like symptoms including fever, headache, sore throat and rashes.

In 2003, mosquitoes found on Bolivar Peninsula tested positive for the virus and six horses in Galveston County were diagnosed with the infection. Koopman pointed out that only one human case of West Nile has ever been reported in Galveston County, and that patient, a resident of Texas City, survived.

According to the Texas Department of Health, only 1 percent of people bitten by an infected mosquito will become severely ill.

“The likelihood of contracting West Nile is small,” he said. “We just want everyone to know that it’s out there, and you need to protect yourself.”

The Texas Department of Health urges residents in mosquito-infested areas to practice the four Ds — dusk to dawn, dress, DEET and drain — to reduce their chances of becoming infected with West Nile. Those tips include staying indoors from dusk until dawn, mosquitoes most active time; wearing long pants and sleeves while outdoors; applying repellent that contains DEET; and draining potential mosquito havens — standing water — from around your home.

read the press release