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City encourages precautions against mosquitoes
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
City officials are reminding Southlake residents to be both proactive and reactive when it comes to dealing with mosquitoes.
This comes on the heels of a mosquito testing positive for West Nile Virus late last month in the Monticello neighborhood.
The city is continuing its efforts to provide biological mosquito larvicide to residents on a first-come, first-serve basis. Residents can pick them up, one per household, at the Southlake Community Center, located at 400 N. White Chapel Blvd., and at the Public Works Operations facility, 1950 E. Continental Blvd.
Upon receiving confirmation June 27 that a mosquito had tested positive for the virus, the city placed a larvicide “dunk” in the water in the Monticello neighborhood to manage the mosquito larvae.
The larvicide kills mosquito larvae on the water surface for 30 days, but it is not harmful to fish, plants, animals or people, said Christi Upton, the city’s environmental coordinator.
City spokeswoman Pilar Schank said Southlake participates in a program that allows the city to have mosquito samples tested during the next several weeks, and further steps will be taken if necessary upon receiving those results.
Besides the larvicide, Southlake officials are encouraging residents to take other steps to limit mosquitoes.
Residents should drain standing water near their property, such as pet dishes and bird baths. Children’s pools should be empty when not in use, and other outdoor items that collect water should be drained.
Insect repellent containing N-diethyl-m-toluamide, or DEET, is recommended when being outdoors.
Staying indoors at dusk and dawn is suggested since that is when mosquitoes are at their peak.
And residents should dress in long sleeves and pants when outside.
Schank said residents are also encouraged to report mosquito problems to the city.
A person infected with West Nile Virus can have no symptoms, or they could develop West Nile Fever or severe West Nile disease. Most people who are infected with West Nile Virus will not develop any type of illness, according to the Center of Disease Control (CDC).
The CDC states that about 20 percent of people who become infected with West Nile Virus will develop West Nile fever. Symptoms include fever, headache, tiredness, and body aches, occasionally with a skin rash and swollen lymph glands. While the illness can be as short as a few days, even healthy people have reported being sick for several weeks.
The symptoms of severe disease include headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis. It is estimated that approximately 1 in 150 people infected with West Nile Virus will develop a more severe form of disease. Serious illness can occur in people of any age, however people over age 50 and some immunocompromised persons are at the highest risk for getting severely ill when infected with West Nile Virus.
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