It might not be the really big deal it first was when it was first discovered, but for the Knox County Health Department, West Nile Virus is still a big enough deal.
Health Department officials say they still test for the mosquito-borne disease through mosquito pools, and in several different types of dead birds that might transmit the disease to mosquitoes.
As for what you can do to prevent yourself from getting the virus from infected mosquitoes…
“Use some common sense,” said Wil Hayes, Assistant Administrator, Knox County Health Department. “Wear light-weight clothes, long sleeves. Try to avoid dusk and dawn when possible — which is the ideal time, of course, for baseball games and everything else that’s going on outside. Do your best to avoid those time periods when you can.”
Hayes tells Galesburg’s Morning News on WGIL if you do have to be out, use mosquito repellent containing DEET, or some with more natural ingredients.
That’s in addition to removing standing water from your property — which he says, you can find almost anywhere, and can can always produce mosquitoes.
“Like, in a tree hole that’s got a slight bit of shade with some leaf matter in it, or something as small as a paper cup, your rain gutter that’s partially plugged,” says Hayes. “They can lay hundreds of thousands of mosquito…eggs at one time.”
Hayes says you can also treat standing water pools with larvicide if needed, but removing standing water is best — easier said than done with recent rains, and more in the upcoming forecast.
Here’s something Hayes says you might not realize — it’s recommended to spray mosquito repellant directly on your clothes instead of on skin, though you can do that, too.
