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West Nile Virus Positive Mosquitoes Confirmed in Los Angeles County

 

This is the first positive West Nile virus mosquito pool within the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District service area.

LOS ANGELES (July 19, 2019) – The Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District (GLACVCD) has confirmed a West Nile virus (WNV) positive mosquito sample in Los Angeles County. The positive mosquito sample was collected from a mosquito trap in the city of Long Beach (90803 zip code), confirming the presence of the virus in mosquito populations within the County.While this confirmation serves as the District’s first positive West Nile virus mosquito pool this year, virus activity has been increasing steadily throughout California.

“West Nile virus is endemic in Los Angeles County. When temperatures increase, so do mosquito populations and disease risk, which pose a serious public health threat for our communities,” said Susanne Kluh, director of Scientific-Technical Services at GLACVCD.

WNV is transmitted to people and animals through the bite of an infected mosquito. There is no cure for WNV. One in five persons infected with the virus will exhibit symptoms.  Symptoms can include fever, headache, body aches, nausea, or a skin rash. These symptoms can last for several days to months. One in 150 people infected with the virus will require hospitalization. Severe symptoms include high fever, muscle weakness, neck stiffness, coma, paralysis, and possibly death.

“Our agency will continue monitoring virus activity and controlling mosquitoes in affected areas,” said Anais Medina Diaz, public information officer for GLACVCD. “But it is very important residents take precautions in their own communities by wearing insect repellent and frequently removing standing water to eliminate mosquito sources.”

Many mosquito repellents are available to prevent bites, but they do not all work equally well. The Centers for Disease Control recommend products with the active ingredients DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus as being safe and effective against mosquitoes that can transmit disease when used according to the labels. Wearing loose-fitting long sleeves and pants can also help deter bites.

Any water left standing for more than one week in containers such as flower pots, fountains and pet dishes provides the perfect breeding habitat for mosquitoes. GLACVCD would like to remind residents that even the smallest water source can contribute to a large public health problem.

Mosquito control is a shared responsibility and residents must take an active role in reducing the threat of WNV in their neighborhoods by taking the following steps:

  • Eliminate standing water in clogged rain gutters, rain barrels, discarded tires, buckets, watering troughs or anything that holds water for more than a week.
  • Ensure that swimming pools, spas, and ponds are properly maintained.
  • Change the water in pet dishes, birdbaths and other small containers weekly.
  • Request mosquitofish from your local vector control district for placement in ornamental ponds.
  • Wear insect repellent when outdoors where mosquitoes may be present.
  • Report neglected (green) swimming pools in your neighborhood to your vector control district.

For more information, residents can contact the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District at 562-944-9656 or online at www.glacvcd.org.

About GLACVCD
The Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District is a public health service agency formed under the authority of the California State Health & Safety Code. Our mission is to reduce populations of public health vectors below nuisance levels and prevent human infection associated with mosquito-transmitted diseases.

  • Fly Trapper says:

    …….Mosquitoes in Cerritos- La Palma.

    Sure wish more and more residents would employ local exterminators to spray their homes and properties and start harvesting fruits and veggies. Many figs are rotting on the trees and host for mosquitos. Please call LACO local Vector chapter, if your hood needs free spraying.

    https://www.loscerritosnews.net/2019/07/19/west-nile-virus-positive-mosquitoes-confirmed-in-los-angeles-county/

    In my neighborhood we have a lot of mosquitoes breeding in the second-story rain guttering, they get constant moisture from the dripping condensation, dripping off of roofing tiles and they breed in aluminum or copper rain gutters. Seeing a lot of mosquitoes breeding in wet soggy hood compost piles, especially if the compost piles are being irrigated from overhead sprinklers. Be sure to drain off Bromeliads plant, they are a breeder for a lot of mosquito since they hold water in the top canopy of a plant.

    Lake at the regional park in Cerritos is full of mosquitoes at night time, so is the Los Coyotes Flood Control Riverbed. All throughout the city of Cerritos, since the Blvd. pine tree roots have uprooted many curbs and gutters, we have a lot of standing water in the curbs and gutters, and they’re breeding areas for mosquitoes, be sure to throw some regular clothes washing bleach in to the gutters, to clean up and kill some of these mosquitoes.

    Past week, Palm Springs general area did some aerial spraying for mosquitoes and I wish Cerritos would also do this.


    Try to keep your yard in great shape, compared to these trophy properties in this link.

    Residents in Cerritos who want to sit outside or in their patios, veranda, pergola, gazebos, garages can purchase a clam mosquito tent, it is a tent which can be popped open in 45 seconds, and is surrounded by mosquito netting. You can also go online on Amazon and purchase mosquito netting drapes for your patio, Atrium, pergolas and verandas. Use some landscape Tikki Torches and scented candles, these help drive mosquitoes away.

    Seniors, which makes up aprox 50% of Cerritos, can get some serious welts from these mosquito bites. Be sure your window screens are in great shape, maybe it is time to rescreen the windows and next time around, use solar screens or COPPER SCREENS, which have a life time warranty. Screens help keep mosquitoes out of bathrooms-kitchens & feeding from our trash bins in the kitchen and garbage disposals. Mosquitos love diaper pales too. Be carefull if your house has security cam lighting bridges/soffits, over doors and garage doors, as bugs love to nest in these areas, homeowner should wash off weekly.

    • Marissa says:

      I can’t go outside without getting bit, I spray myself and tuck all clothing, long sleeves ect. Time of day does not discriminate . I’m in Cerritos and the street always has gutter water because of sink hole that is not a huge hole yet, the city knows and does nothing