West Nile confirmed in county

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Mosquito traps in Elmore County have confirmed the presence of West Nile virus again this year.

This the second county in Idaho to have the virus confirmed so far this season. Gem County was the first, last week.

The Elmore County mosquito with West Nile was identified in the trap at the Hoffman ranch.

Kim Kovac, assistant field researchers for the Elmore County Extension Office, said "we've been inundated with calls about mosquitos in the last week."

Dave Humphreys, the county weed control specialist, has been actively "fogging" (spraying insecticide) in Mountain Home and all the way to Pine and Featherville during the last week, Kovac said. The spraying operations will continue in those areas and other areas of the county.

Mosquitoes breed in standing water. A hot line has been established to report standing water or to report areas where mosquitos "are bad," Kovac said. The hotline number is 1-866-884-2891.

So far, there have been no reports of any person catching the disease.

Horses, birds and humans are most likely to be affected by the disease. A vaccine is available for horses but not for birds or humans.

This is the third year of West Nile's appearance in the area. Many people may have developed immunities at this point after having contracted the disease without knowing it in previous years. The first year of its appearance in the county, three people in Elmore County died from the disease, and several others suffered severe effects from the disease.

The most common symptom is a flu-like sympton -- fevers and headache. If those symptoms persist for more than three days, contact your physician.

To help prevent the spread of the disease, which is carried by mosquitoes, health officials urge people to eliminate standing water, make holes in containers that could contain standing water, aerate ornamental pools, and use DEET during the times when mosquitoes are out, most commonly in the morning and evening.

The extension office will provide at no cost mosquito "dunks" that can be placed in ornamental ponds and pools that will prevent mosquitoes breeding.

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