Dallas County Commissioners Tuesday heard the latest plans for fighting diseases carried by mosquitoes with bug season starting early in a wet, warm spring.
“Mosquito season has started,” Dr. Christopher Perkins said. “We need to take personal responsibility for ourselves and our loved ones.”
This year the Dallas County Health Department is watching for two mosquito carried viruses: West Nile and Chikungunya.
So far 11 reported cases of Chikungunya have all been people who contracted the disease elsewhere and brought it home but Perkins said it could also spread locally if an infected person is bitten by a local mosquito.
The illnesses are different but the same mosquito fighting strategy applies to both.
“So our messaging is now, when you go outside with your various activities, that you wear insect repellent, all day, every day,” Perkins said.
The number of traps to test for infected insects has tripled since the 2012 West Nile Virus outbreak that killed 21 people in Dallas County.
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Dallas County Health Director Zach Thompson said response time is now much faster, too.
“The biggest thing we’ve been able to change is the mindset around the immediate spraying. If we have a confirmed mosquito trap in the morning, we’re able to start spraying in the afternoon,” Thompson said.
Officials urge residents to drain standing water near homes and to dress with long clothing, especially at dawn or dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
