Staying safe this summer

5 tips to avoid diseasecarrying mosquitoes

The Mercury News

Mosquitoes have always been an annoying part of summer, but suddenly they seem to loom larger and buzz louder.

With the world facing its latest health threat from the mosquito-borne Zika virus, you might be tempted to cancel your summer trip to Mexico or points south, including Brazil — even if you were lucky enough to snag tickets to the Summer Olympics.

Or, in the U.S., you might worry about getting bitten by a Culex mosquito. That’s the species that carries the West Nile virus, which has been detected this year in mosquitoes in Memphis. While the global village we live in means we can no longer wave off certain diseases as distant epidemics, health officials also say there’s no cause for panic.

Certainly, with the risks of Zika-related birth defects, pregnant women should carefully consider visiting countries dealing with outbreaks.

Still, the rest of us can reduce our risk by using simple precautions.

Travel safely: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued travel warnings for about 50 countries regarding the Zika virus, including Mexico and in the Caribbean, Central and South America and the Pacific islands. Specifics about advisories for each country are available at wwwnc. cdc.gov/travel/page/zikatravel-information.

If you travel to these countries, try to stay indoors behind screens or closed doors or windows as much as possible, especially during the day when the mosquitoes are most active. At night, sleep under a mosquito net.

Choose the right clothes: The right clothes can go a long way toward reducing bites.

It might seem counterintuitive to don long pants and sleeves in tropical climates, but try to cover as much skin as possible. Clothing with a close weave works best to prevent bites, but layered loose-weave clothing works almost as well, says Joe Conlon, medical entomologist and technical adviser to the American Mosquito Control Association.

Conlon says you can also buy clothing treated with a repellent called permethrin, which is marketed under the name Insect Shield and can maintain its repellency through 70 washings.