Category Archives: Public health
Bill signals new interest in mosquitoes
After last summer’s West Nile virus epidemic in north Texas there is a heightened awareness of mosquitoes and mosquito issues around the state. Last week the Texas Senate gave thumbs up (28-3 vote) on a measure (SB 186) introduced by Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas) that would give municipal health officials authority to enter empty or abandoned properties to treat mosquito breeding sites that pose a public health nuisance. The idea behind this bill is that abandoned homes, most notably those with untended, “green” swimming pools, can be a… Read More →
Have you hugged your zoonosis expert today?
You have probably been thinking about zoonoses (zew oh NO sees, plural form of zoonosis) this week whether you realized it or not. A zoonosis is any infectious disease that can be spread from animals to humans, or vice versa. It’s estimated that over 60% of human pathogens that cause disease are zoonoses. One of the most common ways zoonoses spread is via some form of vector, or intermediate host (carrier) that serves to spread the pathogen. Mosquitoes, for example, are vectors for a variety of zoonotic diseases… Read More →
FAQs about aerial spraying for West Nile virus mosquitoes
In the summer of 2012 aerial mosquito spraying services were offered to Dallas area communities. The decision was made in response to the threat of record numbers of West Nile virus (WNV) cases in the north Texas area in that year. As with any important decision, there were differing opinions on what should be done to battle mosquito borne disease outbreaks. Because of concerns about aerial applications of insecticides over urban areas, I thought it might be useful to address some of the common questions from a science, applied entomology and… Read More →
New videos on mosquito control around the home
Today is the last day for my summer intern, Jeremy Farmer, and one of our final projects this week was making four new how-to videos about mosquito control. These videos cover much of the material addressed in my last blog, but sometimes a picture (video) is worth a thousand words. The videos cover: Mosquito Control – Protecting Yourself Reduce your risk of mosquito bites by using a good repellent. This video describes why you should use repellent and (at the end) lists repellents that are currently recommended by the… Read More →
West Nile Virus: Sooner than Later
The tiny buzz bombers are back. Mosquitoes are in full swing in Texas and are bringing the West Nile Virus with them. One of the first signs of the virus this year occurred in Plano, Texas (zip code 75074, northeast of the cross-section of SH-75 and President George Bush Turnpike). According to Scott Andrews of the City of Plano Environmental Health Department, “The confirmation came last Monday (June 19th) from samples we trapped and sent to the State Health Department. We sprayed the area for mosquitoes last Friday night… Read More →
Sewers and mosquitoes
A recent article in the Journal of Medical Entomology on mosquitoes and sewers caught my eye–yep, I know, most people would skip that one. But the study does shed light on an important public health topic, namely factors that can influence the spread of West Nile virus (WNV) and other mosquito-borne diseases. Allison Garner (University of Illinois-Urbana) and colleagues conducted their study in a Chicago area residential community during the summer of 2010. They looked at mosquito breeding in sewer catch basins over the course of a summer. Sewer… Read More →