Itching to Start the Search for West Nile Virus
Written by admin, June 12, 2015
June 12, 2015 -As the warmer weather brings on mosquito season, staff from Peterborough Public Health are ready to begin their search for any local evidence of the West Nile virus.
Vector-borne Disease Prevention program staff will commence surveillance activities for West Nile virus beginning Monday, June 15. They will continue to collect mosquitoes for testing for the next 16 weeks.
Staff will trap live mosquitoes using five traps located throughout the City and County. Three traps will be at set at permanent locations while the other two rotate every couple of weeks to ensure as much area as possible is covered by the trapping. Traps are checked daily. Starting in July, stagnant water will also be monitored for mosquito breeding activity*.
“Every year we monitor for the prevalence of West Nile virus in our area,” says Donna Churipuy, Manager of Environmental Health. “By doing so we are able to track any trends to see if the disease is on the rise, or if more mosquitoes in our area carry it. Our number one priority is to protect the public, and the sampling helps us make the public more aware.”
West Nile virus is more widespread with warmer temperatures and enough rain. If the weather remains hot for a long period of time with minimal rain there is a reduced chance of West Nile virus activity. This is because there will be less standing water for mosquitoes to breed in.
To best protect yourself you should remove any standing water from your property. As well, ensure you use bug spray containing DEET, wear light-coloured clothing and long sleeved shirts and pants to avoid bites.
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For further information, please contact:
Brittany Cadence
Communications Supervisor
705-743-1000, ext. 391