Conditions ripe for West Nile flare-up
Hoping to thwart an early crop of mosquitoes that could spread West Nile virus, health officials in Eastern Washington and North Idaho are urging people to take their spring yard chores seriously.
Draining sources of standing water, from old buckets to stagnant bird baths, could help avoid spread of the disease that infected nearly 1,000 people and was linked to 23 deaths in Idaho last year.
The combination of wet weather and warmer temperatures has created ideal hatching conditions for the annoying insects – and renewed worries that the disease finally will spread into the Inland Northwest.
“If our state is like some of the others, we could see a large number of cases this year,” Tim Church, a spokesman for the Washington Department of Health, said Tuesday.
Three Washington residents were confirmed to be infected with West Nile virus last year, ending the state’s run as the last holdout in the nation.
Idaho, however, suffered a significant outbreak, although it was largely confined to the southern and central parts of the state, said Leslie Tengelsen, a deputy epidemiologist with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
This year, North Idaho may not be spared.
“There’s certainly the possibility that the virus could move into the Panhandle,” she said.
Then again, it might not. The potentially serious virus has marched generally westward since 2004, but its spread has been erratic.
In Colorado, for instance, 3,000 infections were reported in 2003, but only 300 were logged in 2004.
“No one really knows why,” Tengelsen said. “It has a lot to do with the susceptibility of the human population and the animal and bird populations.”
West Nile virus is spread primarily by mosquitoes that become infected when they feed on infected birds. The mosquitoes spread the virus to other animals, including horses and humans, when they bite.
Already this year, two cases of human infection have been reported in Mississippi, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 80 percent of people who become infected show no symptoms. About 20 percent develop fever, headache, body aches and other symptoms that can last from a few days to several weeks. About one in 150 people develop very serious illness that can cause neurological damage and death, according to the CDC.
People older than 50 are most susceptible to the illness; the average age of West Nile victims who died in Idaho last year was 72, officials said. But young people also can be infected.
The best way to avoid the disease is to avoid bites. Destroying mosquito habitat is crucial, said officials from the Panhandle Health District in Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane Regional Health District in Spokane.
“Most mosquitoes live for one to two months and have flight range of one-half to two miles,” Julie Awbry of the Spokane health district said.
Less than an inch of standing water can yield a crop of adult mosquitoes in a week, officials said. They recommended checking patios, gardens and yards to see where water may be collecting.
Fixing screens and other sites where mosquitoes can slip inside is important. So is dressing to avoid the bugs when outside. Wear long-sleeved shirts, pants and approved insect repellents.
The biggest task health officials face is getting people to take the threat of West Nile illness seriously, said Church, of the Washington Health Department.
“Sometimes people don’t take action until it personally affects them,” he said.