Slap Happy Season
By Ben Meisner
Sunday, June 05, 2005 07:49 AM
photo courtesy Centre for Disease Control
Culex mosquito, the type that normally carries West Nile Virus, lays her eggs
So far, so good, The Medical Health Officer for the region, Dr. Lorna Medd says the surveillance systems are up but to date there have been no reported cases of crows or other birds that have shown to have West Nile Virus.
Dr. Medd says people should be aware that it takes time for the virus to build up and the earliest that the virus would likely even hit here, if it does, would be late summer.
Dr. Medd says so far there have been no reported cases in the lower mainland so it would take some time to flow north.
The spread of the Virus has been much slower in this province than for example the Prairie Provinces and there were no reported cases of the disease in British Columbia last year. Meantime the Health authority is accepting crows for testing.
Dr. Medd says take the regular precautions that you normally do during the mosquito season.
-wear long pants, and long sleeved shirts at dawn and dusk, times when mosquitoes are most active
-use bug spray that contains deet
-clear your yard to ensure there is no place for water to pool and stand, like old tires, buckets, flower pots etc . Those are the perfect sites for the Culex mosquito to breed.
The current crop of the pests is the large variety. The type that traditionally carries the virus (the culex) is much smaller.
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