Politics & Government

Is West Nile Coming to Brentwood This Summer?

Patch offers prevention tips, and the map below shows the number of West Nile cases last summer.

By John Schreiber

Last year, Los Angeles County reported 174 human cases of West Nile, which represented the second-busiest year for West Nile in the county. Of Those 174 people, six died as a result of the disease, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

As the summer season begins, so too does the prime season for mosquitoes and the West Nile virus they can carry, health officials warned. 

So far this year, no Westside communities have reported any cases of West Nile, but the Valley Glen area there was been a case of the disease in mosquitoes on June 3, according to the L.A. County West Vector Control District, which serves Malibu. 

According to Dr. David Dassey, the Deputy Chief of the Acute Communicable Disease Control Program for the Los Angeles County Health Department, West Nile first came to Los Angeles County in 2003 and will likely not go away any time soon. 

Dassey said that since it first appeared in the county, incident rates of West Nile have fluctuated depending on a variety of factors including how many birds in the area are susceptible to the disease. 

"We have seen it's ups and downs over the 11 years that we have been experiencing (West Nile)," Dassey told Patch. "It appears that we are going to have these cylces depending on birds that are susceptible and the presence of mosquitoes." 

Dassey said that 2003 was the worst year for West Nile in Los Angeles and also the first year it was found in the county. Dassey attributed the high incidence rate in 2003 to the fact that birds in the area had not yet built up immunity to the disease.  

"Birds, like any other organism, can develop immunity if (West Nile) doesn’t kill them... Those birds get taken out of the equation because they can no longer carry it," Dassey explained. "But, their baby birds become susceptible... That is what we mean by this cyclical pattern of how immune the bird populations are.”

Mosquito Control
Los Angeles County currently funds vector control districts that are tasked with controlling, among other creatures, mosquitoes. 

“A lot of people don’t know that in their property taxes, they are paying a tax for mosquito control," Dassey said. "Roughly 98 percent of the populated areas of L.A. County are covered by a mosquito abatement district.”

For Malibu, the West Vector Control District regularly monitors and tests for the West Nile virus in mosquito pools, birds and sentinel chickens while also taking preventative measures such as spraying pesticides and distributing mosquito-eating fish to residents. 

Of particular concern to Los Angeles County, Dassey said, is the Asian Tiger Mosquito, which features one characteristic not common to most mosquitoes. 

"It is a daytime biter and that is what makes it more dangerous," Dassey explained. “The other mosquitoes are nighttime biters.”

While the efforts of local vector control districts can help ward off the Asian Tiger Mosquito, officials said the real responsibility of mosquito control comes down to local residents. 

“I think people should be empowered to take their own personal precautions and also protect their neighborhoods... We can do a lot to eliminate breeding places," Dassey said. "Anything that can hold water can probably breed mosquitoes over the summer and they breed very quickly the hotter it gets... Everybody has a responsibility not just to themselves and their family, but also to their neighborhood to make sure these things aren’t happening.”   

The Cases and Incidence Rates

To give residents a sense of West Nile’s prevalence in the area, Patch has pulled together county-level 2012 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

You can see how counties across the state compare by using the interactive map above, which shows the number of West Nile cases in humans and the infection rate. West Nile – named after the district in Uganda where the virus was first discovered – spread to New York City in 1999, and has been migrating across the United States ever since.  Last year was the deadliest year so far for West Nile in the United States, with more than 5,600 "confirmed and probable" cases, and at least 286 related deaths. 

Local predictions for 2012 are very difficult to make. But nationally, "the number of humans with West Nile virus disease continues to rise in the United States," said Dr. Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC's Division of Vector-Borne Diseases

No Vaccine, Little Reporting, But a High Cost
While there is a West Nile vaccine for horses, there isn't one for humans, according to Purdue University Professor Richard Kuhn. Furthering the problem is the fact that cases of West Nile often go unreported. 

“It's always underreported because if someone has a mild case they might not report it; they might think it’s a cold,” said Judith M. Lavelle, Health Communications Specialist at the CDC. 

There is currently no comprehensive treatment for someone infected by West Nile, which makes severe diagnoses all the more frightening. Patch spoke to one Texas man who survived a West Nile infection in 2006, and has dedicated himself to educating the public about the potentially debilitating disease.

“I was told point blank that I would never walk again - to forget it,” said Donnie Manry, of the Bryan County Police Department in Texas. “It was devastating.”

Manry, who was 42 at the time, said that within five days of being stung, encephalitis and meningitis left him paralyzed. Through rehabilitation, Manry was able to regain control of his body again, and now uses a cane to walk. 

From Birds to Bugs to Humans
West Nile has also been detected in bird populations, notably in Central Michigan. “Certain types of birds serve as a reservoir for West Nile Virus,” Kuhn said. An infected bird can pass the virus along to an uninfected mosquito when bitten.  That’s why Wisconsin has launched a hotline for people to report dead birds in the area. 

Many states have begun testing mosquitoes for West Nile, with PennsylvaniaIllinois and California all reporting positive detection in certain counties. After the virus was detected in California, LA County began overnight aerial spraying to stop the spread. Residents are cautioned to remain indoors during the spraying.
  
Prevention and Symptoms
The CDC recommends using an EPA-certified mosquito repellant if you’re going to be outdoors, and lists some additional prevention tips on their website, including:

  • When weather permits, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants outdoors.
  • Place mosquito netting over infant carriers when you are outdoors.
  • At least once or twice a week, empty water from flower pots, pet food and water dishes, birdbaths, swimming pool covers, buckets, barrels, and cans.
With the 2012 mosquito season was the highest on record, health officials are cautioning people to take immediate action if you believe you’ve been infected. The CDC website lists varying degrees of symptoms, including: 
  • Serious Symptoms in a Few People. About one in 150 people infected with WNV will develop severe illness, including high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, and paralysis.
  • Milder Symptoms in Some People. Up to 20 percent of the people who become infected have symptoms such as fever, headache, and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back.
  • No Symptoms in Most People. Approximately 80 percent of people  infected with WNV will not show any symptoms at all.
Reporting Mosquitoes

Malibu residents can report mosquito populations or dead birds to the West Vector Control District by:
  • Calling 1-310-915-7370 to report mosquito populations
  • Calling 1-877-WNV BIRD (877-968-2473) to report dead birds or squirrels.


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