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Guest column: Mosquito season buzzing with activity

 
Moore
Moore
Published July 8, 2015

As mosquito season ramps up this summer, a new virus transmitted by mosquitoes will be high on our radar. The virus, called chikungunya (pronounced chik-un-GUN-ya), is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito.

This virus has nothing to do with chickens. The name chikungunya, also called ChikV, is derived from a local language in Tanzania meaning "that which bends up" or "stooped walk" because of the incapacitating arthritic symptoms caused by the disease.

The most common symptoms include fever, headache, severe muscle and joint pain, joint swelling or rash. There's no vaccine against chikungunya, and the only treatment is rest and pain relief.

The two mosquito species responsible for the spread of chikungunya are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, commonly found in Florida, including Pasco County. Their larvae are often growing in outdoor containers holding water.

The number of chikungunya cases among travelers returning from areas in which the virus is endemic has increased, especially in the Caribbean and South America. The number of human cases detected dramatically increased in 2014 to almost 1.5 million in this region. With a large number of travelers going to and from the Caribbean via planes and cruise ships, Florida health officials have been monitoring for possible imported cases.

Each new imported case comes with the threat that local mosquitoes could feed off the victim before the illness is identified. This number has been particularly large in Florida, which has seen nearly 500 imported cases in 2014. As the number of travel-associated chikungunya cases continue to rise, the potential for local transmission increases. Since June 2014, 11 locally transmitted chikungunya cases have occurred in four counties in South Florida — two in Miami-Dade, four in Palm Beach, four in St. Lucie and one in Broward.

The staff at Pasco County Mosquito Control District will work diligently with our arsenal of trucks and helicopters rigged with spraying equipment to keep the mosquitoes at bay. Over 42 mosquito species have been documented in Pasco County, some more capable of transmitting disease than others. Along with keeping the nuisance species under control, we will keep close watch on mosquito-borne diseases, such as the West Nile Virus, Eastern equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis and now, the newest threat of the chikungunya virus.

We encourage residents to take a good look around their property and remove anything that could potentially hold water — buckets, tires, flower pots. Even a small container, such as a bottle cap or potato chip bag, can hold enough water to breed mosquitoes. Additionally, residents can protect themselves by wearing insect repellent and loose, long-sleeved shirts and pants.

Residents should drain water from garbage cans, gutters, buckets, pool covers, coolers, toys, flower pots or any other containers where sprinkler or rain water has collected. Discard old tires, drums, bottles, cans, pots and pans, broken appliances and other items that aren't being used. Empty and clean birdbaths and pets' water bowls at least once or twice a week. Protect boats and vehicles from rain with tarps that don't accumulate water. Maintain swimming pools in good condition and appropriately chlorinated. Empty plastic swimming pools when not in use.

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Cover skin with clothing and use repellent with DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus and IR3535. Cover doors and windows with screens to keep mosquitoes out.

If you're experiencing mosquito problems, give us a call at (727) 376-4568. Visit our website at pascomosquito.org for more information.

Dennis Moore is director of the Pasco County Mosquito Control District.