By Joanie Morris
For the Salisbury Post
A few years ago, mosquitoes in North Carolina were nothing more than a nuisance ó a flying critter that would light and bite. Itchy for a few days, the mosquito bite never held any real venom for hapless victims in the piedmont.
ěThe Eastern Equine stayed down east and the La Cross stayed in the mountains,î said Lynn Aldridge, Environmental Health supervisor for the Rowan County Health Department. ěWe looked upon mosquitoes as an aggravation and hindrance.î
Then, West Nile Virus migrated to the piedmont from New York, starting in centennial chicken flocks. Mosquitoes carry West Nile Virus by biting an infected bird. The virus is spread to humans after the infected mosquito samples our blood for his dinner.
These viruses are known as arboviruses ó viruses transmitted to vertebrates, such as people and mammals, by blood-feeding insects called arthropods, such as mosquitoes. Three such viruses seen here are Eastern Equine Encephalitis, La Cross Encephalitis and West Nile Virus. The diseases occur from June through September, the most active seasons for mosquitoes, and cause mild, flu-like illness. The diseases can lead to more serious diseases such as encephalitis, meningitis, meningoencephalitis and even death.
Sharon Owen, nursing director at the Rowan County Health Department, said the only requirements for reporting arboviruses are for people that have meningitis or encephalitis ó and only then when they have a four-fold increase of antibodies in lab results. From 2000-2005, there were no cases where this happened in Rowan County.
Since the migration of West Nile Virus to the piedmont area of North Carolina, environmental health specialists like Aldridge have been looking at mosquitoes as less a hindrance and more as an environmental health issue.
When the virus first migrated to North Carolina, Aldridge said county health departments, in conjunction with the state and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, did bird sampling. Birds found dead were sampled for West Nile Virus. The sampling gave them an idea of how the migration was happening and where it was headed. They donít do that anymore.
ěItís here,î said Aldridge matter-of-factly. ěNow all you can do is take care of the water.î
Aldridge refers to the mosquito larvae lifecycle, which is from 7-14 days long. During that time, any standing water becomes breeding grounds for the biting bugs.
ěWe have a pretty hard time explaining this issue to the general public,î said Aldridge. ěWhat the general public thinks is that the creek in the woods or the pond across the road is where the mosquitoes are coming from.î
That is actually not the case, he added. Usually, those areas have frogs, fish or other larvae-eating animals to eat the mosquito eggs before they can hatch into blood-sucking pests.
ěProblems come when dog bowls donít get emptied out or the gutter spout becomes clogged up,î said Aldridge. ěItís the little things like that.î
Aldridge said there are a couple of ways to prevent mosquitoes from becoming a problem in cases like that. If youíve got a small standing body of water ó maybe a drainage area where there are no frogs or fish ó there are products called mosquito dunks that can be thrown in to kill the eggs. There are a variety of brand-name products on the market and can be found at any hardware store.
The other thing to do is flush the problem. From dog water bowls to a childís sandbox that has collected water, simply dumping the water out and starting fresh keeps the problem at bay.
ěIf it rains, youíre fine,î he added. ěIf you go a week without rain, stick a water hose up in the gutter and flush it out. All youíre doing is washing the larvae out.î
Another problem area many donít realize is there are the black corrugated pipes that some use to drain water from their gutter down to the ditch. Those ripples collect water and mosquitoes lay their eggs there. It is dark and damp, two things mosquito larvae like. Simply flushing those pipes out with a hose will solve the problem.
Aldridge points out that mosquitoes donít only cause a problem for humans. Manís best friend is at an increased risk of heart worms with increased mosquito presence in the yard.
ěThatís usually a death sentence for dogs when that happens,î said Aldridge. To reduce the risk of heartworms, consider putting your pet on a heartworm preventative, as well as reducing standing water.
West Nile Virus can be transmitted to horses, a problem for an animal that youíve spent a lot of money caring for. There is an approved equine vaccine for West Nile Virus.
ěItís not only us that have to worry about the mosquito-borne illnesses,î said Aldridge.
For humans, a mosquito repellant containing DEET can also be used. Repellants are not recommended for children under 2 months old and the maximum concentration of DEET in a repellant that is safe for children and infants is 30 percent.
Joanie Morris is a freelance reporter for the Salisbury Post. She can be reached at 704-797-4248 or news@salisburypost.com.