9/12/2023 0 Comments Donate blood west nile virus![]() ![]() Until Larimer County voters choose to create a mosquito control district and fund it, there is no funding available for broader mosquito efforts. Colorado Mosquito Control will contact the HOAs in the area that do their own mosquito spraying to ensure they are not being sprayed more often than intended. In this case, the cost of spraying is covered by the requesting HOA, and double spraying is avoided through communication between mosquito control contractors. Homeowner’s associations may decide to have their neighborhoods sprayed to control adult mosquitoes independently of any City or County actions. Those efforts are independent of Larimer County. Some cities, towns, homeowners associations, individual property owners, and businesses have made the decision to spray in order to control both nuisance and WNV infected mosquitoes. We monitor that with the mosquito control contractors each week. There can be an increase of nuisance mosquitoes in an area without risk of the virus. Trap data is used to determine whether the mosquitos collected every week are carrying the virus. The level of infected Culex mosquitoes varies in different areas of the county in different weeks. These do not pose a public health risk and are really just what they are called, a nuisance. Many of the mosquitoes you see may be what are called nuisance mosquitoes. If and when Larimer county sprays, it does so to target areas at the highest risk of West Nile infection. Spraying decisions are based on elevated numbers of infected mosquitoes. 75. A significant lag time (approximately 4 weeks) exists between when a person is infected and when their case is reported to the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment. The city of Fort Collins-operated WNV management program is restricted by city policy to consider spraying only when the Risk Index (Vector index) is at or over 0. Public health recommends spraying to control adult mosquitoes when the risk index in an area exceeds 0.5 – the level above which human cases are expected to occur. The decision to spray an area in order to control adult mosquitoes for reasons of public health is based on monitoring for West Nile virus in mosquito populations. ![]() 5, the risk of humans getting infected with West Nile virus increases. Published investigations of large West Nile outbreaks have shown that once a vector index is over. The VI is a number calculated by combining measures of the abundance of Culex mosquitoes (the species that carries WNV) and the rate of infection in those mosquitoes. The vector index (VI) measures the level of WNV infected mosquitoes in an area, and is the best available predictor of human risk of disease. This information is what helps determine a spray recommendation throughout the season. Trap data is published each week on our website. Larimer County Department of Health and Environment works closely with the local mosquito control contractors as well as the local cities and Colorado State University to monitor trap data and assess human risk during each week of West Nile season. Infected mosquitoes have been trapped in Larimer County each year since 2003. Many people who became seriously ill are continuing to recover while others suffered permanent disabilities. Thousands of people in Colorado were infected with West Nile virus in 2003, the worst year in Larimer County. ![]() You cannot catch the virus from another person. WNV is transmitted to mosquitoes after they bite infected birds. Symptoms can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks.Īpproximately 80 percent of people who are infected with WNV will not show any symptoms at all. These symptoms may last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent.Ībout 20 percent of the people who become infected have milder illness such as fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. The severe symptoms can include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. Signs of illness may appear anywhere from 3 - 14 days after a person is bitten by an infected mosquito.Ībout one in 150 people infected with WNV will develop severe illness. People over 50 years of age and those who have serious diseases and immune disorders are more likely than younger patients to have the most severe forms of the disease. People of any age who spend a lot of time outdoors are more likely to be bitten by an infected mosquito and therefore develop West Nile disease. West Nile virus is considered to be permanent in Colorado and infections can be expected each year. West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne virus that can potentially cause serious illness.
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