West Nile Discussed at Conference
JOE KAFKA
Associated Press
PIERRE, S.D. — City, county and tribal officials were told Monday that about $400,000 in federal funds may be available this year in South Dakota for control of mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus.
Diseases caused by the virus have killed 17 people in the state since 2002.
Bill Chalcraft, state public health preparedness and response administrator, said this marks the third year that federal assistance will be available for chemicals and equipment to combat mosquitoes.
He said 223 grants that totaled $913,000 were provided in 2004, and 157 grants that totaled $476,000 were provided last year.
West Nile virus first showed up in South Dakota in 2002, when 37 cases were documented, said Lon Kightlinger, state epidemiologist. He said that grew to 1,039 human cases in 2003, when South Dakota had the highest incidence of the virus in North America.
Kightlinger said cool summer weather cut the incidence to 51 cases in 2004, and 229 cases were reported last year.
Once bitten by mosquitoes carrying the disease, people are immune, he said.
About 35,000 South Dakotans have been infected by the virus since 2002, leaving some 730,000 yet vulnerable, Kightlinger said.
"This is a problem in every corner of the state," he said. "We're not over this yet."
Kightlinger said 80 percent of those who get the virus do not get sick. Of the rest, fewer than 1 percent get the most serious forms of the disease and just 0.10 percent of total infections result in death, he said.
West Nile symptoms are flu-like and usually mild. However, the disease can cause paralysis and lingering health problems.
Kightlinger said the elderly and people with weak immune systems are most susceptible to the worst forms of the disease. July and August are the worst months for spread of the virus, he said.
Although a vaccine is available for horses, no such vaccine has yet been developed for humans, Kightlinger said. People must use insect repellants to avoid being bitten by infected mosquitoes, he said.
"All you can do is use personal protection."
William Reisen of the University of California-Davis told the state conference on West Nile virus that a lot of research has been done in his state on the Culex tarsalis mosquito, a common carrier of the virus in California and South Dakota.
That mosquito species is mobile, can rapidly reproduce and survive cold winters, he said. "Culex tarsalis is a dispersive desert species that is always looking for water," Reisen said.
Laurie Gill, Division of Health and Medical Services director in the state Health Department, told the local officials that it's important to continue stressing the risks posed by West Nile virus. People who have gotten used to hearing about it may become complacent, she said.
"This has not gone away," Gill said. "We need to remain diligent in mosquito prevention and control."
Contact:
Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications
UC Mosquito Research Program
Department of Entomology
396 Briggs Hall
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616
Phone: (530) 754-6894
E-mail: kegarvey@ucdavis.edu
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