The Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District has confirmed positive samples of West Nile virus in mosquitoes in Fullerton.
West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne illness that can cause mild symptoms such as fever, vomiting and body aches. Severe symptoms can include coma, tremors, paralysis and even fatal neurological disease; however, most people who become infected with West Nile virus do not develop any symptoms.
It is reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as being the leading cause of mosquito-borne illness in the contiguous United States.
The OCMVCD controls mosquito and vector-related problems in order to protect the Orange County public’s health. In order to control these problems, the district monitors mosquito and vector-borne diseases by setting up routine traps for these insects and animals to observe weekly.
“We get all of these routine traps and we bring them back, identify them. Within the week, we usually get a test result of some sort,” said OCMVCD Assistant Vector Ecologist Tyler Mehrbrodt. “Most are negative, but some do turn positive, and that’s what happened to Fullerton.”
During the week of Monday, Sept. 22, OCMVCD confirmed the virus’s existence in parts of Fullerton near Anaheim. The district office is starting to see a spread of the virus into Fullerton from Anaheim, which is considered to be one of the hotspots for the virus in Orange County, the other being Garden Grove.
Once the virus was detected and confirmed to be positive in the Fullerton area, OCMVCD notified the city of Fullerton through the OCMVCD’s Board of Trustees representative for Fullerton, Shana Charles. Charles is also the Mayor Pro Tem for the city, representing District 3.
On Oct. 1, an official notice was posted through the city of Fullerton’s official website regarding the positive samples confirmed.
According to the OCMVCD Public Information Officer Brian Brannon, the specific type of mosquito that carries the virus, the Culex mosquito, typically bites birds. If the bird the mosquito bites has West Nile virus, the mosquito will then become infected with the virus and spread it to other birds or humans.
However, humans are known to be dead-end hosts, meaning that if a person becomes infected with the virus, they cannot spread it to others unless through blood transfusion or organ transplantation.
However, residents are easily able to protect themselves from getting the virus with basic mosquito bite prevention.
“If you’re out when they’re biting, you can put on some mosquito repellent. We recommend something with 30% DEET because that’s most effective for most of the mosquitoes, including the ankle biters, which are more resistant.” Brannon said.
One popular prevention method Brannon does not recommend is using citronella candles for protection. However, another effective preventative measure residents are able to do is to dump out any standing water, as it can be a breeding ground for the insect.
“Any water that sits for more than a week can start developing the bacteria… that the mosquito eggs need, for the juvenile mosquitoes, the larvae, to grow up to become adults,” Brannon said.
Once the standing water is dumped out, any bacteria or larvae growing in the water will be killed.
It is also recommended to wear long, loose clothing in order to prevent mosquitoes from biting through an outfit.
If there is any concern that these preventative measures are not enough to protect one from being bitten, it is recommended to contact the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District at (714) 971-2421 or (949) 654-2421. You can also submit a service request through their website at ocvector.org.