LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Mosquitoes are hitting some Southern Nevada neighborhoods hard this summer.
“We have seen West Nile virus in 46 zip codes already this year,” Vivek Raman, Environmental Health Supervisor of Southern Nevada Health District reported. Human cases are way up too.
Thursday, only FOX5 went inside an SNHD lab to watch as mosquitoes were processed for testing to find out just how many are carrying the virus.
“Mosquitoes are actually the deadliest creature on the planet,” Raman contended. While the annoying little pests spread viruses around the globe with their bite, in Nevada they carry St. Louis Encephalitis and West Nile.
West Nile, first detected back in 2004 in Southern Nevada, was detected early this mosquito season in May.
“We have seen a very active mosquito disease surveillance season… We have had over 450 mosquito activity complaints from the general public,” Raman revealed.
From Mesquite down to Laughlin, 2,000 mosquito traps were set up by a team of six from SNHD starting back in April. The number of mosquitoes captured is way up.
So far this year, 38,000 mosquitoes have been taken to the lab for testing, 20,000 more than last year.
The mosquitoes are analyzed and counted by hand, put into vials, and sent to the Southern Nevada Public Health lab for testing.
The increased number of positive cases in the lab mirrors the increase in the positive number of human cases in the community. So far, 20 people have tested positive this year compared to two last year and none in 2022 and 2021.
The worst year on record for West Nile in Southern Nevada was 2019 when 43 human cases were reported. Most of those cases came toward the end of the summer.
“We are just getting into August, so this year has the potential to be one of the worst West Nile activity seasons that we have seen in Southern Nevada,” Raman shared.
SNHD says it’s important to stop the breeding and stop the biting. They ask for everyone to check for standing water in their neighborhood and say to make sure you have screens on open doors and windows. Also, wear mosquito repellent, especially at dusk and dawn.
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