Brendon Gibb and Dustin Boothe Carson City Health and Human Services
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Summer season is the time to beware of the buzzing, biting menace of mosquitoes. The more snow we accumulate in the winter, the higher you can expect water levels to be in the valley which means more mosquito habitats.
Carson City Health and Human Services’ Environmental Health Specialists will be conducting abatement treatments around the city throughout the summer season. This includes treatment of irrigation ditches, city owned parks, and even utilizing a helicopter to perform aerial treatments of our green pastures.
Public Health officials are working to fight the threat of these troublesome insects and the dangerous infections they may carry. West Nile Virus, which can cause illness in humans and horses, is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. Many people who are infected with West Nile Virus have no symptoms. However, about 20 percent of those who are infected experience symptoms similar to a mild flu with fever, nausea, body aches, skin rashes, headache and tiredness. These symptoms tend to show up between 3 to 14 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
While most West Nile Virus infections are mild, some people will develop a more serious infection called West Nile Encephalitis. The symptoms of this disease include high fever, a stiff neck, confusion, coma, tremors, and occasional paralysis. If you develop any of these symptoms, seek medical attention immediately.
There are things you can do in and around your own home to protect yourself and keep mosquitos from reproducing. Dustin Boothe, Carson City epidemiologist, strongly urges individuals to practice preventive measures.
"Use repellent containing DEET and wear long sleeves, pants and socks when outside, especially during dawn and dusk,” Boothe said. “Also, remove any standing water from around your house and check to make sure your window screens fit properly so mosquitoes cannot enter your home.”
It is important that you take steps to protect yourself and your family from West Nile Virus and other mosquito-borne infections:
• Remove standing water from around your property. This includes car tires, garbage bins, gardening pots, and even holes.
• Eliminate piles of yard waste or debris where water can collect.
• Repair or replace window screens and doors to keep mosquitoes out of your home.
• Repair leaky outdoor faucets to keep puddles from forming.
• Treat swimming pools regularly to keep them from becoming a mosquito habitat.
• Any time you are outdoors, but especially at dawn and dusk, cover up as much as possible with long pants and long sleeves.
• Wear bug repellant to keep mosquitoes away.
For information on mosquito prevention and West Nile Virus, visit www.cdc.gov/westnile.
For resources, programs, and services provided by CCHHS visit .
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