VIDA AENELVALLE
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

(Published Wednesday, August, 10, 2005 11:55AM)

MODESTO -- In an effort to control West Nile virus in Modesto, officials sprayed for mosquitoes last Thursday in the city's northeast section and around two parks in the city's northwest.
The announcement came as Stanislaus County health officials confirmed the county's twelve human case of West Nile infection this year.

Due for the early morning spraying last week were Village I subdivisions along Merle, Floyd and Sylvan avenues, west of Claus Road; plus Muncy Park off Prescott Road south of West Rumble Road, and Davis Community Park at College Avenue and West Rumble Road.

Lloyd Douglass, general manager of East Side Mosquito Abatement District, said he believes those areas are hot spots for the virus because of growing mosquito populations and dead birds that tested positive. The Village I neighborhoods are close to farmland where mosquitoes can breed.

West Nile virus is transmitted to people and animals through mosquito bites. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds.

"The (mosquito) numbers started picking up in the last week," Douglass said. "It is so hot, they are hatching out faster."

Officials said a truck drove through the neighborhoods and around the parks, releasing the chemical pyrethrin.

The state Department of Health Services says pyrethrin is not harmful to people or animals. Douglass said pyrethrin kills mosquitoes on contact and has no residual effects.

Residents in the neighborhoods that were sprayed were advised to close their windows before going to bed the night before to keep the spray from drifting into their homes.

Several Village I residents said they had not seen many mosquitoes or dead birds, but were comfortable with the decision to spray.

Roger Williams, a resident of the Millbrook subdivision, said: "You have all those fields over there, and there is standing water with mosquitoes."

The last three individuals to have tested positive with the West Nile virus were women ages 26, 28 and 53 bringing the total to twelve confirmed cases in the county, according to Dr. John Walker, Stanislaus County's public health officer.

"The virus is in Stanislaus County," Jones said. "Everyone needs to take precautions."

In San Joaquín County, Public Health Services announced last Monday that a 55-year-old woman living in the southern part of the county has tested positive for West Nile virus. The woman had no symptoms and discovered she has the virus after requesting a blood test from her doctor, said Connie Cassinetto, a county spokeswoman. This marks the county's first reported human case of the virus in 2005; Merced County has had one.

The woman recently traveled outside the county; officials did not know where she got infected. About 80 percent of people who are infected will not have symptoms. About 80 percent of people who are infected will have no symptoms. Others will experience flu like effects in two to 15 days, and less than 1 percent will become seriously ill. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds or other animals.

Douglass said people living near the hot spots can take precautions such as eliminating sources of standing water, changing the water in pet dishes and regularly replacing water in birdbaths.

Also, avoid spending time outside at dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are most active. And use insect repellent containing DEET.

For more West Nile information, the county offers recorded information in English and Spanish at this hot line: 558-8425. Additional information is available online from the Health Services Agency, www.hsahealth.org.

Ken Carlson is a Modesto Bee reporter