National Mosquito Control Awareness Week

The mosquito season is upon us! Besides being a nuisance, some mosquitoes may carry diseases that can cause West Nile virus illness or Eastern equine encephalitis.  As you are on the forefront of public health interacting with your clients, we ask you to please remind your clients of a few simple things that they can do to protect themselves and their animals from mosquito-borne diseases.

DRAIN standing water to stop mosquitoes from multiplying

• Drain water from garbage cans, house gutters, buckets, pool covers, coolers, toys, flower pots or any other containers where sprinkler or rain water has collected.
• Discard old tires, drums, bottles, cans, pots and pans, broken appliances and other items that aren't being used.
• Empty and clean birdbaths and pet's water bowls at least once or twice a week.
• Protect boats and vehicles from rain with tarps that don’t accumulate water.
• Maintain swimming pools in good condition and appropriately chlorinated. Empty plastic swimming pools when not in use.

COVER skin with clothing or repellent

• CLOTHING - Wear shoes, socks, and long pants and long-sleeves.  This type of protection may be necessary for people who must work in areas where mosquitoes are present.
• REPELLENT - Apply mosquito repellent to bare skin and clothing.
• Always use repellents according to the label. Repellents with DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, and IR3535 are effective. 
• Use mosquito netting to protect children younger than 2 months old.

COVER doors and windows with screens to keep mosquitoes out of your house

• Repair broken screening on windows, doors, porches, and patios.

Many mosquito-borne and other zoonotic and/or regulatory diseases can be monitored for in wildlife. You can assist by reporting sick/dead wildlife to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Information regarding bird or bat mortalities can be entered online at  http://www.myfwc.com/bird  and www.myfwc.com/batmortality  and deer sick or dead of unknown causes can be reported through the CWD hotline at 1-866-CWD-WATCH (1-866-293-9282).

Arbovirus surveillance in Florida includes endemic mosquito-borne viruses such as West Nile virus (WNV), Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) and St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) as well as exotic infectious agents such as dengue virus (DENV) and malaria Weekly reports can be found at: http://www.doh.state.fl.us/environment/medicine/arboviral/Weekly-Summary.html

Mosquito-borne disease prevention information and Florida specific mosquito-borne disease information can be found at:

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Environment/medicine/arboviral/index.html