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Flower Mound offering free larvicide
By Chris Roark, Croark@starlocalnews.com
The West Nile Fever and West Nile Virus continue to be the story of the summer.
Almost daily, the number of confirmed cases of the virus and the fever in local cities continues to grow.
Patients who are bitten by a West Nile Virus-infected mosquito and exhibit temporary flu-like symptoms are diagnosed with West Nile Fever. People who are bitten by a West Nile Virus-infected mosquito and have it affect their blood stream and neurological system, causing swelling of the brain, are diagnosed with neuro-invasive West Nile Virus.
In Flower Mound, town officials plan to launch a program Monday in which residents can pick up larvicide tablets, or dunks, to place near standing water around their homes.
These dunks are about 2 inches in size and should be placed in bodies of standing water, such as bird baths, coy ponds, etc. Each dunk lasts up to 45 days.
Residents can pick up the dunks at town hall Monday through Friday free of charge. They are limited to two per household.
“We’re trying to get residents to be proactive to help us combat the mosquito population,” said Chuck Dumas, environmental health manager for the town. “This will allow them to start their own program, and after that, they can purchase them at our local home and garden stores.”
Flower Mound generally uses the larvicide instead of town-wide mosquito spraying. The town will spray, however, if there is a laboratory-confirmed case of an adult mosquito in Flower Mound with the West Nile Virus and/or a cluster of positive human cases.
As of Thursday, there have been seven human cases in Flower Mound since July 5. Four of those people have the West Nile Virus, and two of them have the West Nile Fever. There have also been nine confirmed mosquito pools that have tested positive for West Nile.
“We’ve really stepped up our efforts because the number of cases have come up much earlier this year,” Dumas said. “And we only expect it to get worse.”
In Lewisville, there have been 10 human cases of West Nile confirmed. City officials don’t have the numbers of the West Nile Fever and the West Nile Virus cases separated.
City spokesman James Kunke said none of the human cases have been fatal. He said he believes most of the residents infected with West Nile have returned home from the hospital and are recovering.
Also in Lewisville, there have been nine confirmed mosquito pools that have tested positive for the West Nile Virus.
Lewisville officials have sprayed parts of the city once since the human cases were reported.
“We think the larvicide tablets are more effective,” Kunke said. “We’ve placed them at various city water sources, such as creeks, ponds, drainage pipes and any place that the city controls.”
In Highland Village, there have been two human cases, one with the virus and one with the fever, which was confirmed Thursday.
Highland Village has sprayed the city four times, a different section each time. City officials also go to areas of standing water to put in larvicide.
There have been no deaths in Denton County related to the virus this year, though nearby counties, such as Dallas County, has had a handful of fatalities.
West Nile virus is still a relatively new health concern. The first cases were confirmed in New York in 1999 before making its way down to Texas in 2002.
In that year, Denton County had two human cases. This year, the number of cases has jumped to 49.
Officials say there are various reasons why there has been an increase in cases.
“From the experts that we’ve talked to, what we gather is that one of the main reasons is we just had a mild winter, and the temperatures weren’t cold enough to kill the mosquitoes,” said Sarah McKinney of the Denton County Health Department. “Another reason is because we had a lot of rain in the early spring. So it started early, and that’s one reason we’ve had more cases.”
McKinney said another reason there are higher cases reported is the media coverage.
“More people have heard about this because of the media,” McKinney said, “so they have started calling the doctor when they feel bad, whereas previously they might not have.”
Kunke said this year’s drought is another factor.
“People have been watering their yards a little bit extra because of the drought,” Kunke said. “But sometimes that water piles up, so it’s important not to over-irrigate.”
But the percentages are still in humans’ favor. McKinney said 80 percent of people who are bitten by a virus-infected mosquito will not have symptoms. She said between 19 and 20 percent will have mild symptoms, such as nausea, headaches, fever, body aches or swollen lymph nodes. She said less than 1 percent will have severe symptoms, such as severe headaches, neck stiffness, tremors, a high fever or confusion.
Still, all cities are encouraging residents to be proactive.
“We’re not at panic numbers, but we still don’t want the number of cases to go up,” Kunke said. “We want people to be responsible, like putting on bug spray when they go outside and getting rid of standing water.”
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