West Nile has Infected 27 Mosquito Species

January 29, 2003
By ED SEALOVER - THE GAZETTE

Several hundred El Paso County residents may contract West Nile virus this summer and a few could die, El Paso County health department official Tom Wood warned Monday.

Wood, the department's director for environmental quality, spoke Monday to the Colorado Springs City Council and gave the sobering news that he expects West Nile cases to skyrocket. His estimates are based on the rapid spread of the disease across the country over the past four summers.

City Council members seemed surprised and alarmed.

"From an epidemiological standpoint, (the illnesses and deaths) may be inevitable," Councilwoman Margaret Radford said. "But if you can prevent it, you've got to try."

The virus surfaced in this country in New York in 1999, killing seven people. It spread throughout the northeast and mid-Atlantic in 2000, burst westward in 2001 and killed 241 people across the country last year, a 14-fold increase from the year before, Wood said.

West Nile didn't arrive in Colorado until August, but it nearly killed a 34-year-old El Paso County man last fall.

The virus has infected 27 species of mosquitoes, and the local species, Culex tarsalis, carries the most virulent strain, Wood said. The mosquito, which infected 17 birds and four horses in the county last year, can travel as high as 10,500 feet and is expected to be more active this year.

"We are going to need help," Wood told the council. "This is a big problem, and we anticipate it is going to be a very big problem."

City officials and residents are being asked to report areas of standing water, like community detention ponds and small ponds in local parks, to the health department. Wood and his staff will then spray these areas with a bacteria that kills mosquito larvae but does not harm animals.

The department will also trap and identify mosquitoes this year and collect dead birds to test for the disease. The efforts are expected to cost at least $150,000.

Wood advised that local residents eliminate standing pools of water, such as bird baths or feeding troughs for horses. And he urged residents to wear long-sleeve clothes while outside this summer.

"There is no treatment for this disease," he said. "The only prevention is self-protection against the bite of a mosquito."

Councilman Richard Skorman said he hopes the forecast doesn't cause panic.

Wood answered that he plans to do an education drive in local schools and public forums.

Wood said because this is a new disease, he expects its occurrences to remain the same for three to five years before dying down.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0184 or sealover@gazette.com

To report dead birds or areas of standing water, call the El Paso County Health Department at 575-8636.

http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=173396