Vector Control Says West Nile Virus is “Widespread” Across Cass County

Vector Control had five of thirty samples containing West Nile

WEST FARGO, N.D. — The combination of steady rainfall, hot temperatures, and high humidity have led to an above–average amount of mosquitoes that have West Nile Virus, according to Cass County Vector Control.

Crews from Cass County Vector Control sprayed streets in the metro Wednesday night after some mosquitoes in the area were found to have West Nile.

“We’ve seen kind of ebbs and flows, we’ve seen some early indications of West Nile circulating in the area with dead birds, now we’ve seen positive pools and unfortunately we’ve seen a human case documented thus far too,” said Ben Prather, the Director of Cass County Vector Control.

West Nile affects only one in five people, but most people who contract the virus don’t show any symptoms.

“It’s a relatively small percentage of people that are going to fall deadly ill to these types of illnesses, and certainly there’s not a huge cause for panic or alarm,” said Prather.

Prather says there are an above average number of mosquitoes with West Nile in southern Cass County.

His team is conducting ground sprays in the metro area.

He says they may need another spray over the next seven to ten days since the aerial spray does not impact larvae hatched in the water.

“We know for certain that there is a hatch, there is a brood in our periphery, in our outer ring of suburbs and places that we’re not able to larvicide,” said Prather.

These trucks will go around Fargo, West Fargo, and Moorhead to spray chemicals that attack adult mosquitoes. But health experts say that it’s important to use bug spray with DEET inside in order to prevent the disease from spreading.

“If you’re going to be outside for prolonged periods between dusk and dawn, wear long pants, wear a long shirt. Try to minimize exposure between dusk and dawn,” said Brenton Nesemeier, a Field Epidemiologist with the North Dakota Department of Health.

People should also change standing water in bird baths or in containers that could serve as breeding grounds for the little buggers.

But now that the problem has been identified, Prather says it might take some time to tackle the solution.

“The conditions are continuing to ripen here, so we’ve got some tough sledding over the next week or two, but we’re going to put everything we can towards it and try and keep things at bay,” said Prather.

The Cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks will also have a citywide spraying to attack mosquitoes tomorrow night.

Grand Forks Mosquito Control has identified several birds and mosquitoes positive with West Nile virus.