West Nile virus is widespread
CHICO >> In Butte County, seven new pools of West Nile virus have been found while four sentinel chickens have tested positive for the virus. The West Nile virus has resulted in one death in Butte County so far this year.
Butte County Mosquito and Vector Control District said the virus is considered “widespread” among mosquitoes in the county with this year seeing 76 positive pools. The highest year on record was 2015 when 101 mosquito pools with active cases of West Nile virus were found.
“2015 was the fourth year of the drought,” said Butte County Mosquito and Vector Control District Manager Matt Ball. “One would think droughts mean less mosquitoes therefore there should be less virus. Well, here in Butte County, droughts actually mean propagation of the virus and it means more artificial water, flooding and irrigating sooner than natural weather. We actually see more
mosquitoes and more virus on drought years than when we get a nice cool wet spring.”
On a typical year, the virus is active from June to October in Butte County and typically peaks in August. There have been at least eight confirmed cases of the virus and one death in California this year.
Ball said with the temperatures this year being hotter than normal and an expected warmer than average fall, it’s difficult to tell when the West Nile will calm down.
“Without many cool downs, there’s been a perfect combination of things that could lead to increased West Nile this year and we’re in the middle of a pretty aggressive season,” Ball said. “I know a lot of people in our area are concerned with smoke and where the fires are at and what’s COVID doing but the one thing we’ve had every year since 2004 is the West Nile virus. It just doesn’t seem to go away and probably never will.”
Ball said since the first West Nile virus case reported in the United States in 1999, the virus mutated as it spread across the country. In the time since the first reports out of Queens, New York, ways to track and control the virus have sprung up including the Butte County Mosquito and Vector Control District.
The group takes multiple different steps to monitor and control the spread of the West Nile virus. Beyond testing pools of water, sentinel chicken coops are placed in seven locations throughout Butte County which Ball said can help track the spread of transmission. Other forms of testing for West Nile include dead bird surveillance which involves testing the bird to see if they died due to the virus.
Despite the tracking, residents of Butte County are still coming back with cases of the West Nile virus. Ball said he worries that after 17 years since the virus was first reported in the county, people are beginning to shrug off the threat.
“It’s as simple as getting gas on the way to work in the morning and you get bit by one mosquito and you can get West Nile virus,” Ball said. “When we say right now we have eight humans infected in Butte County and one person succumb to that, fatally — the general population is like, ‘Well, look what COVID is doing. Eight people with one one death in Butte County is not that bad, considering we have 225,000 people.’ To me, it’s very bad because that was somebody’s mom or dad, or somebody’s potential grandparent or friend. We live in a world here in Butte County where we can afford the things that prevent West Nile.”
In order to prevent contracting West Nile, Ball said the steps to take are easier said than done.
The first step is to prevent
a bite. The best way to avoid a bite is through mosquito repellent. Ball added another option is wearing large baggy clothes when a person plans to be out when mosquitoes are active.
“Mosquitoes are most active throughout the night and then the morning, so when you’re out in the middle of the day in the sun, your risk of being bitten by a mosquito that carries West Nile is ultimately very low,” Ball said. “I always want to preface that with a caveat that when you’re going to be outdoors, you should still be taking precautions. If you’re enjoying lower Bidwell Park and it’s 105 degrees outside when you’re in a shaded environment next to a bunch of foliage or vegetation, there’s nothing stopping a mosquito from coming out and feeding on you.”
The second way to prevent West Nile is to look for standing bodies of water that go unused.
“A mosquito can go from an egg to a biting adult in five days or less,” Ball said. “So if you’ve got Fido’s dog water bowl outside and it just never runs out, flush it out. You could easily be breeding your own mosquitoes in your backyard.”
Butte County Mosquito and Vector Control District also inspects properties with potential mosquito problems free of cost. Appointments can be made by calling the district office at 533-6038 or by filling out an online request form.