LAKEPORT, Calif. – One sentinel chicken and three more mosquito samples collected in Lake County tested positive for West Nile Virus this week, making the total findings of the virus in the county this year the highest since 2006.
On Thursday Lake County Vector Control and county health officials reported that a sentinel chicken near Lower Lake tested positive for the virus, and several more positive mosquitoes were collected near Clearlake Oaks and Upper Lake.
So far this year, 18 mosquito samples, five dead birds and the one sentinel chicken have tested positive for West Nile Virus in Lake County, officials reported.
The trend across California also shows an increase in West Nile Virus cases this year, according to state records.
Vector control and health department officials said no human cases of West Nile Virus infection have been reported in Lake County this year.
“The risk of exposure to West Nile Virus in Lake County is the highest we've seen since 2006. Even though we have not seen human cases of illness so far, my goal is to keep that number at zero,” said Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait.
Tait reminded county residents that it’s “important to take precautions against mosquito bites until the mosquito season is well behind us.”
“There is still a lot of West Nile Virus activity throughout the county, and residents can help protect themselves and their neighbors by getting rid of standing water where mosquitoes develop,” said Jamesina Scott, Ph.D., the district manager and research director of the Lake County Vector Control District.
Scott encouraged residents to spend a few minutes in their yards this afternoon to look for standing water where mosquitoes develop.
“You can dump out small containers like plastic wading pools or buckets, or call the district for free mosquito fish for containers that you cannot drain like ornamental ponds and out-of-service swimming pools,” she said. “These are simple and environmentally friendly ways to prevent mosquitoes around your home.”
Officials encourage residents to protect themselves from mosquito bites by avoiding being outside at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active, and to wear long sleeves and use an insect repellant containing an EPA-registered active ingredient like DEET, Picaridin, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, or IR353.
One neglected (“green”) pool can produce hundreds of thousands mosquitoes per week, and those mosquitoes can fly up to five miles away.
The Lake County Vector Control District traps and tests mosquitoes throughout the county to identify the areas that have the highest risk, and targets those areas for source reduction and treatment using an integrated vector management program.
Residents with questions, who want to report a green pool, request mosquitofish or want help with a mosquito problem should contact the Lake County Vector Control District at 707-263-4770 or visit their Web site at www.lcvcd.org .
For more information about West Nile virus, visit www.westnile.ca.gov/ .