Agriculture officials say more than 500 mosquito pools have been found to carry West Nile virus this year, the “highest number of positive mosquito pools ever seen in Utah.” (Shutterstock)
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah health officials said Wednesday that a resident of northern Utah recently died as a result of the West Nile virus, marking the first fatal case of the state of the virus this year.
The update came just a day after state agricultural officials reported that the reduction teams had found a record number of mosquito pools possessing the virus.
In all, 11 people in the Davis, Salt Lake and Weber-Morgan health districts have tested positive for West Nile virus this year, the Utah Department of Health said Wednesday. The state makes an average of a dozen cases each year.
The department did not publish much information about people who died as a result of the virus, other than that they were residents of the Weber-Morgan Department of Health district.
Utah Department of Agriculture and Food officials reported Tuesday that the virus has also been found in nine horses and seven birds. Seven of the horses that tested positive for West Nile virus were in Weber County, while one horse in Box Elder County and another in Salt Lake County also tested positive.
The virus is most often transmitted by mosquito bites. The Utah Department of Health report updated during the week ending Aug. 28 noted that 506 of the more than 5,000 mosquito pools analyzed this year have returned with mosquitoes that contain the virus. More than half (281 in total) of the pools have been located in Davis County, while another 192 mosquito pools have been found in Salt Lake County.
The virus has also been reported in mosquito pools in Box Elder, Cache, Summit, Tooele and Weber counties. Utah Department of Agriculture and Food officials added Tuesday in an update to the West Nile virus that it is “the highest number of positive mosquito pools ever seen in Utah.”
Hannah Rettler, a zoonotic epidemiologist and vector transmitter at the Utah Department of Health, added that just over 8.6% of mosquito trapping sites have tested positive for the virus compared to 0.008% last year.
“Utah is seeing the higher number of mosquito trap sites positive (West Nile virus) than we have had in the history of West Nile surveillance in the state,” he said in a statement Wednesday .
The state reported around 8% positive rate in 2017, which is when the state had the most human cases of the virus. Most people do not notice any symptoms, but it can cause serious illness and death; according to the health department, nine of the 11 human cases reported in Utah this year have been “neuroinvasive.”
“We could see many more Utahns getting sick unless residents take steps to reduce mosquito exposure,” Rettler added.
There are ways to prevent people from becoming infected. The health department recommends the following:
- Wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and outdoor socks.
- Use insect repellents with 20% to 30% DEET. Repellent is not recommended for children under 2 months.
- Reschedule outdoor activities to avoid the maximum time for mosquitoes, which range from dusk to dawn.
- Remove any puddles of water or stagnant water that may be present in pet dishes, pots, buckets, tarpaulins, tires, or swimming pools. This is because mosquitoes lay their eggs in stagnant water.
- Report stagnant water masses in your local mosquito reduction district.
- Make sure all doors, windows and screens are in good condition and fit well so that mosquitoes cannot fly inside a house.
You can find more tips and information about the virus here.
Meanwhile, the disease can cause serious illness in other mammals such as horses. Signs of West Nile virus in horses include loss of appetite, depression, fever, and neurological signs such as tripping, laps, and weakness, according to state agricultural officials.
Considering the record number of mosquito pools carrying the virus, Dr. Dean Taylor, the Utah state veterinarian, urged horse owners to vaccinate their horses against the threat of the West Nile virus. .
“Vaccines against West Nile virus and other neurological diseases are available at your veterinarian,” he said in a statement. “All homeowners should discuss vaccinations with their veterinarian in the spring before the mosquito season.”