On Thursday, Aug. 5, the Grand River Mosquito Control District tested two mosquito traps in Fruita, CO and found a presence of the Culex mosquito species: a type of mosquito that can transfer the West Nile virus to humans.
Since then, there have been two cases of West Nile virus found in residents living in Delta County and two in Mesa County. A student attending Colorado Mesa University (CMU) was diagnosed a little over a week ago and a few days after that, a local 55-year-old woman tested positive for West Nile virus.
After Culex mosquitos entered the United States in 1999, “2,200 people have died of West Nile in the U.S. in 20 years,” CMU Professor Timothy C. Winegard said. Ultimately, there are so many other causes of death that are more probable than West Nile virus.
However, West Nile Virus is “a worry because it’s here [in the Grand Valley], and the right mosquitos are here,” Winegard said.
However, about 90% of people that contract West Nile virus will have no symptoms, another 9% will feel minor flu symptoms that eventually go away. The other .5 to 1% of individuals who contract West Nile virus will experience full blown symptoms that can include swelling of the brain, paralysis and eventually coma and/or death. Some of the people in these rare cases can survive, but they may have permanent nerve damage.
The chance of symptoms escalating to this level are low. While West Nile virus is a risk, most of the people that contract the virus feel no symptoms and the Grand River Mosquito Control District is working daily to control the mosquitos of the Grand Valley.
There are possible ways to decrease your risk of contracting West Nile virus: drain any forms of standing water from your backyard, wear long sleeves and pants when you are in areas with active mosquitos, try to remove bushes from certain areas in order to reduce mosquito populations around them, put on bug spray and avoid going out when mosquitos are feeding, mostly after dusk.
The Grand River Mosquito Control District works to monitor and control mosquito populations in the Grand Valley. For further information, visit their website at https://www.grmcd.org/
