West Nile Virus found in Iberia Parish

Published 6:00 am Tuesday, July 4, 2017

The Iberia Parish Abatement District has spotted its first case of the year of West Nile Virus in local mosquito pools.

Director Herff Jones said the disease-carrying insects were discovered in pools located in Grand Marais and Lydia.

“We want everyone across the parish to be mindful, especially between May and October,” Jones said. “The residents in Grand Marais and Lydia, we want them to pay particular attention to take excessive exposure to mosquito bites while we’re doing our operations to reduce those numbers.”

“If they have to be outdoors, we want them to wear light colors, long pants, we want them to use identified repellants and follow the instructions. Parents especially need to be mindful of the little ones, because a lot of times we forget about kids and they are more sensitive to mosquito bites than adults.”

The district has 25 surveillance sites in the parish that collect mosquitoes on a nightly basis. After collecting and identifying them, the samples are sent to the LSU School for Veterinary Medicine for virus testing. Jones said viruses the school is searching for usually include West Nile, encephalitis and the Zika Virus.

There is usually a 72 turn around period where the results come in. Jones said the primary vector of the West Nile is the southern house mosquito, which has a flight range of one to one-and-a-half miles.

“If we have a trap at a location that collects mosquitoes with a virus, then we know to treat a defined and precise manner since we know the mosquito can only fly so far,” Jones said.

This case is the first of the year where West Nile has been detected. Jones said the last recorded time was late-August of 2016.

“Our normal incidents of occurrence in mosquito pools is 2 percent of virus activity,” Jones said. “That’s average over the last six years.”

The rate of humans contracting the virus as a result of a disease-carrying mosquito in Iberia in the past six to 10 years is less than a 10th of a percent. Jones said the low rate means it would be unlikely for a person to contract West Nile, it’s still something to watch out for.

“It does occur in iberia, but at a low rate,” Jones said. “We would like to credit for that, but we certainly don’t because this is nature. We’re dealing with an aquatic pest that breeds in the billions per season.”

“We feel very strongly that our program gives us the best indication, or early indication, of when virus activity is taking palce in the mosquitoes so we can intercede with our spraying operations to thwart any dead end infections.”

Additional mosquito operations by the district are expected to take place after the July 4th holiday.

 • Apply mosquito repellent that contains DEET, Picaridin or Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus and apply as directed on the label.

• Protect children sensitive to insect bites with repellent and cover exposed skin- there are many preparations sold in drug stores and camping sections of local stores that are formulated for adults as well as children.

• Wear light colored clothing with long sleeves and long pants when outdoors particularly at dawn and dusk.

• Avoid wearing perfumes or colognes when outside for prolonged periods.

• Remove all sources of standing water near your home (i.e. cans, barrels, planters, tires, containers and tarps).

• Keep all pools, spas, birdbaths, ponds and fountains clean and free of debris.

• Maintain tight fitting screens on doors and windows.