In an effort to control West Nile virus in Modesto, officials said Tuesday they will spray for mosquitoes later this week in Village I in the city’s northeast section and around two parks in the city’s northwest.
The announcement came as Stanislaus County health officials confirmed the county’s sixth human case of West Nile infection this year.

Due for early morning spraying Thursday and Friday, officials said, are Village I subdivisions along Merle, Floyd and Sylvan avenues, west of Claus Road; plus Muncy Park off Prescott Road south of West Rumble Road, and Davis Community Park at College Avenue and West Rumble Road.

Lloyd Douglass, general manager of East Side Mosquito Abatement District, said he believes those areas are hot spots for the virus because of growing mosquito populations and dead birds that tested positive. The Village I neighborhoods are close to farmland where mosquitoes can breed.

West Nile virus is transmitted to people and animals through mosquito bites. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds.

“The (mosquito) numbers started picking up in the last week,” Douglass said. “It is so hot, they are hatching out faster.”

Officials said a truck will drive through the neighborhoods and around the parks, releasing the chemical pyrethrin.

The state Department of Health Services says pyrethrin is not harmful to people or animals. Douglass said pyrethrin kills mosquitoes on contact and has no residual effects.

Residents in the neighborhoods being sprayed are advised to close their windows before going to bed tonight to keep the spray from drifting into their homes.

Several Village I residents said they had not seen many mosquitoes or dead birds, but were comfortable with the decision to spray.

Roger Williams, a resident of the Millbrook subdivision, said: “You have all those fields over there, and there is standing water with mosquitoes.”

A 56-year-old woman is the sixth person in the county to have a confirmed West Nile infection, officials said. They said she had a fever but had not been hospitalized.

David Jones, spokesman for the county Health Services Agency, said a 46-year-old

woman was released from a hospital on Friday after treatment for a neuroinvasive form of the virus. The county announced July 23 that she had been hospitalized, and her case has been the most serious so far.

In the other cases, at least one person was hospitalized and released, and two people had fevers but were not hospitalized.

No answer to ‘where?’

County health officials have refused requests from The Bee to disclose where the people were when they might have been infected by mosquito bites, or even where the people live.

Sandra Wergeland, a resident of Village I’s Nottingham subdivision, said she would like more information about where people had been infected.

“Just to be more alert,” the mother of four said. “If we are going to be outside like we are tonight, I am going to make sure to put on repellent so the kids are protected.”

Jones said it would be hard to pinpoint where the bitings took place. Also, doing so would encourage a false sense of security for residents who do not live in those areas, he said.

“The virus is in Stanislaus County,” Jones said. “Everyone needs to take precautions.”

About 80 percent of people who are infected will have no symptoms. Others will experience flulike effects in two to 15 days, and less than 1 percent will become seriously ill.

Douglass said people living near the hot spots can take precautions such as eliminating sources of standing water, changing the water in pet dishes and regularly replacing water in birdbaths.

Also, avoid spending time outside at dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are most active. And use insect repellent containing DEET.

Posted by Administrator in Health News