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8.21.2001
Officials say mosquito testing yet to show virus
• Though some dead birds have been found to be infected by the virus, health officials say a truer indicator of its presence is mosquito testing.
BY PAUL EDWARD PARKER
Journal Staff Writer
The news in this summer's battle against West Nile virus in Southeastern Massachusetts is decidely good.
The height of the mosquito season is coming to an end, and state scientists have yet to find the virus in mosquitoes, which can infect humans.
Although dead birds infected with the virus have been found in two clusters of communities, including one along the border of Bristol and Plymouth Counties, state health officials have seen no reason to sound alarms.
"In and of itself, one or two birds testing positive in a community is of no great significance," Roseanne Pawelec, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health, said yesterday. "The virus in dead birds alone is not the barometer of risk we thought it was last year."
Now, health officials look for the presence of mosquitoes that have the virus, Pawelec said, adding, "We're into the high point of the summer, and we've yet to have any mosquito pools test positive for West Nile virus."
Although a woman in Atlanta 10 days ago became the first human fatality this year attributed to the disease, Massachusetts has never recorded a human case of West Nile, Pawelec said.
In mild cases, an infected person experiences fever, headache and body aches, often with a skin rash and swollen lymph glands. More severe cases can be marked by a severe headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, paralysis, meningitis and encephalitis. Illness is notable in only 2 percent to 5 percent of those infected. Of people hospitalized with the disease, more than 85 percent survive.
Before 1999, West Nile virus was thought to be limited to Europe, Asia and Africa. It is not known how it got to the United States.
In Massachusetts, the state has an extensive network -- augmented by regional agencies -- to trap mosquitoes and test them for the virus.
This year, dead birds testing positive have been found in Dartmouth, Taunton and other Southeastern Massachusetts communities roughly along the border of Bristol and Plymouth Counties. Another cluster of dead birds testing positive has been noticed north of Boston in the Andover and Tewksbury areas, Pawelec said.
Plentiful rains and high humidity levels this summer have contributed to a large mosquito population, which makes the absence of the virus in mosquitoes even more surprising, she said.
When cooler temperatures return, usually around the beginning of September, the mosquito population begins to decline, Pawelec said. "Certainly we're looking at the beginning of the end of mosquito season."
AVOIDING WEST NILE
Tips to reduce exposure to West Nile Virus
Because humans become infected with West Nile Virus through mosquito bites, take steps to reduce exposure to mosquitoes, including:
Avoid outdoor activity between dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active.
If you must be outdoors, wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants.
Use a mosquito repellent containing DEET, except on infants. For children, the DEET concentration should be no more than 15 percent; for adults, 35 percent.
Fix holes in screens and make sure they are tightly attached to doors and windows.
Eliminate areas around your house where water collects. Mosquitoes will breed in pools or puddles that last more than four days. Properly cleaned and chlorinated swimming pools are safe.
For more information:
Massachusetts Department of Public Health West Nile Virus Web site:
www.state.ma.us/dph/wnv/wnv1.htm
Massachusetts Department of Public Health toll-free West Nile Virus information line:
866-627-7968.
SOURCE: Massachusetts Department of Public Health
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