West Nile virus returns
Mosquitoes trapped in The Woodlands by the Montgomery County Mosquito Abatement team have tested positive for the West Nile virus, township officials say.
Mosquitoes trapped in The Woodlands by the Montgomery County Mosquito Abatement team have tested positive for the West Nile virus, according to township officials.
The abatement team responded following the Texas Department of State Health Services protocol, which includes larviciding, spraying of select storm drains and targeted street spraying.
So far, Montgomery County has had no reports of West Nile virus in a human this year. The only human case of West Nile in Texas this year was in El Paso, according to the Texas DSHS.
The testing of mosquito samples was done inhouse at Precinct 3’s South County Mosquito Abatement office for the first time this year. Previously, all mosquito samples had to be sent to the Texas DSHS to be tested for the virus, which could take a week or more to get the results, according to Justin Fausek, program leader for South County Mosquito Abatement. Now, the abatement team can get results back the same day.
Although the in-house testing is more expensive, Fausek said that the county believes the ability to streamline testing and treat affected areas makes it worth it.
“We feel that this increased cost is more than justified since we will be able to respond to disease activity faster than we ever have before,” Fausek said.
Last year, Texas had a total of 252 cases of the West Nile Virus in humans, 181 of which were the serious, neuro-invasive form of the disease and 11 of which resulted in death.
Most people infected with West Nile show no symptoms, but about one in five experience fever, headache, body aches, vomiting and other flu-like symptoms. Less than one percent of those infected develop the serious neurologic illness, which can result in seizures, paralysis and, in rare cases, death.
Area environmental services officials are also preparing for the possibility of the Zika virus spreading to Montgomery County. In the past year, there has been a Zika outbreak in Latin America and the Caribbean, with some cases of people infected abroad before coming to the United States.
Infection is characterized by fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis, and is of most concern in pregnant women, as it can cause microcephaly, a condition where the baby’s head is much smaller than normal, and other birth defects.
As of June 21, there were 46 confirmed cases of Zika virus disease in Texas, including 15 in the Greater Houston area. So far, there have been no cases of mosquitoes infecting people with Zika in the United States. However, the state health department is testing mosquito samples from high-risk areas for the virus.
Local samples have not yet had to be tested for Zika, said John Geiger with The Woodlands Environmental Services. The Woodlands did start testing and treating for mosquitoes earlier than usual this year, he said, and officials are taking the threat of Zika seriously.
“We are planning and preparing as best we can — putting more resources toward it,” Geiger said. “(Zika) is a real possibility.”
In the meantime, Geiger said that the use of inhouse testing for West Nile will help The Woodlands better protect residents from health hazards.
Still, he urges residents to take precautions by eliminating or treating any standing water that could serve as a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes, by wearing long pants and sleeves, using mosquito repellent, and avoiding outside activity during dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are most prevalent.