When dealing with West Nile virus, prevention
is your best bet. Fighting mosquito bites reduces your risk of
getting this disease,
along with others that mosquitoes can carry.
Take the 3 commonsense
steps below to reduce your risk:
1. Avoid bites and illness
When possible, wear long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors.
Mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes
with repellent containing permethrin or DEET will give extra
protection. Don't apply repellents containing permethrin directly
to skin. Do not spray repellent containing DEET on the skin under
your clothing.
The hours from dusk to dawn are peak mosquito biting times for
many species of mosquitoes. Take extra care to use repellent
and protective clothing during evening and early morning -- or
consider avoiding outdoor activities during these times.
2. Clean out the mosquitoes from the
places where you work and play
Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing
water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes
to breed by getting
rid of items that hold water.
Some mosquitoes like to come indoors. Keep them outside by having
well-fitting screens on both windows and doors. Offer to help
neighbors whose screens might be in bad shape.
3. Help your community control the disease
Dead birds may be a sign that West Nile virus is circulating
between birds and the mosquitoes in an area. Over 130 species
of birds are known to have been infected with West Nile virus,
though not all infected birds will die. It's important to remember
that birds die from many other causes besides West Nile virus.
Check with local health authorities to see if there is an organized
mosquito control program in your area. If no program exists,
work with your local government officials to establish a program.
The American Mosquito Control Association can provide advice,
and their book Organization for Mosquito Control is a useful
reference.
More questions about mosquito control? A source for information
about pesticides and repellents is the National Pesticide Information
Center, which also operates a toll-free information line: 1-800-858-7378
(check their Web site for hours).
Mosquito breeding sites can be anywhere. Neighborhood clean up
days can be organized by civic or youth organizations to pick
up containers from vacant lots and parks, and to encourage people
to keep their yards free of standing water. Mosquitoes don't
care about fences, so it's important to control breeding sites
throughout the neighborhood.
Something to remember
The
chance that any one person is going to become ill from a single
mosquito bite remains low. The
risk of severe illness and death is highest for people over
50 years old, although people of all ages can become ill.
2004 West Nile Virus Activity in the
United States
(reported to CDC as of December 14, 2004)*
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