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Thursday, August 16, 2007
Worried about those pesky mosquitoes?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Snellville Parks and Recreation Director Cyndee Bonacci said she’s fielded hundreds of calls and emails since a report last week that mosquitoes infected with the West Nile virus were found in the city’s Briscoe Park.
That’s not surprising. Snellville’s finding was the first this season in Gwinnett County and among the first in the state.
It’s normal to wonder if you should put away your picnic basket and resort to the malls for your daily walks.
Bonacci says the calls are a good thing. They let her get the facts out about the virus, which mostly infects birds and mosquitoes but can be transmitted to humans.
So, how concerned should we be?
For most of us, health and city officials say: not overly.
The West Nile virus is a danger mostly to very young children, the elderly and those whose health or immune system isn’t what it should be. For the rest of us, we may never know if we have been bitten by an infected mosquito. And if we do, it usually feels like a mild flu for which we don’t need treatment. Fewer than 1 percent of those infected become seriously ill.
If you are worried, however, the advice is what you have heard before - eliminate standing water around your home, stay inside at dusk and dawn, wear effective insect repellent and/or cover up with clothing. In other words, try not to be bitten.
As for avoiding the park, well, there may be as many infected mosquitoes in my back yard — or yours — as there are in Briscoe Park.
Snellville volunteered Briscoe to be a testing site. Unlike most back yards and private property, the park has been treated this season to kill mosquito larvae. The presence of mosquitoes there is more an indicator that they are in the Snellville area than a warning about the park itself.
Tests have found the West Nile virus in Snellville in 2003, 2004, 2005 and this year, according to officials in city government and the county health department.
But Snellville is not alone. There are areas near Lawrenceville and in the northern part of the county that have tested positive more frequently than the Snellville site, officials said. It just hasn’t happened this season yet.
A few years ago, Snellville sent out trucks to spray insecticide along streets. Residents received notes in advance, telling us to bring pets inside before the spraying.
Such action may be taken when the mosquito population is extremely high or if West Nile continues to show up at test sites, said Bonacci and Vernon Goins of the Gwinnett Heath Department.
But spraying only works when the mist actually touches the adult mosquitoes, Bonacci said.
“It is considered a last resort,” Goins said. It is more effective to eliminate standing water or to treat areas to kill the larvae, he said.
Since Snellville’s positive report, the park has been treated again and additional tests have been made there, as well as elsewhere in Gwinnett, Those results have not come back yet, Goins said Wednesday, but he expects them soon. Because he hasn’t received early notice, he is optimistic they will be negative.
Is West Nile something you are concerned about? How do you respond to news about this and other health issues? Does the public overreact?
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