(7/24/02)
If you thought mosquitoes were bad these past two weeks - you're right!
Mosquito abatement districts are seeing their highest numbers right now, as they continue collecting specimens which might be possible carriers of the West Nile Virus.
Science Specialist Ed Yeates takes a look.
Gary Hatch with Davis County Mosquito Abatement continues collecting mosquitoes captured in special traps. He then sorts them into groups of fifty. 150 of these mosquito pools, as they're called, are being sent weekly by abatement districts throughout the State to the health department's lab here in Salt Lake City.
The specimens are ground up and tested to see if they're carrying viruses - more specifically - the potentially dangerous West Nile Virus which has now invaded every state but two east of the Mississippi. It's also shown up this year in Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and North Dakota.
So far, the virus has NOT been found in Utah, but the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District notes something special about today -- JULY 24th.
SAM DICKSON, S.L.C. MOSQUITO ABATEMENT DISTRICT: "TODAY, JULY 24TH, IS THE DAY THAT WE REALLY PICK EVERY YEAR THAT IS THE PEAK DAY FOR VECTOR SPECIES. SO IT COULD HAPPEN NOW OR IN THE NEAR FUTURE."
If the virus is out there - this is the time collectors will find it.
ED YEATES, SCIENCE SPECIALIST: "THOUGH MANY PEOPLE MIGHT BELIEVE MOSQUITOES SIMPLY CANNOT THRIVE IN A DROUGHT YEAR - SAM DICKSON SAYS NOT SO. TAKE THE PAST TWO WEEKENDS FOR EXAMPLE."
DICKSON: "THE LAST TWO WEEKENDS HAVE JUST BEEN TERRIBLE. OUR MONITORING DEVICES WHICH ARE PLACED AROUND THE CITY - PARTICULARLY THE ONES BY THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - HAD JUST TREMENDOUS NUMBERS OF MOSQUITOES IN THEM."
Since mosquitoes pick up the West Nile virus from birds - the State is asking people to report any dead birds in their neighborhood - especially isolated cases which might follow a pattern of infection.
Crows, ravens, magpies and some raptors, including eagles and hawks could be potential carriers. Deaths usually occur not in flocks but as isolated cases, perhaps only one or two birds.
