Randy Vaeth is encouraging students to fight the bite. Vaeth, East Baton Rouge Parish Mosquito Abatement entomologist, said Louisiana has seen an increase in West Nile virus over the past few months. This year, the Department of Health and Hospitals has confirmed 92 cases of West Nile virus in Louisiana with nine cases in Baton Rouge. Six people infected with West Nile have died in the state this year.  The DHH says West Nile virus can develop into a West Nile neuroinvasive disease, a West Nile fever or it could present no symptoms at all. The neurological illness presents serious symptoms like convulsions, tremors and comas. The fever presents flu-like symptoms. Most people infected with West Nile suffer from no symptoms.  Vaeth said no treatment has been discovered for humans with West Nile virus yet. The only method to help infected patients who do suffer from flu-like or neuroinvasive effects is to treat their symptoms.  The Southern house mosquito typically spreads the virus. Human risk is considered high when more than five per 1,000 infected mosquitoes are found, and Vaeth said more than 20 infected mosquitoes were found in East Baton Rouge last week.  “The virus is fairly rare, and there is no need to panic,” Vaeth said.  The East Baton Rouge Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control program uses several methods to protect the area from West Nile virus such as aerial spraying, ground spraying and larva control.  Aerial spraying is the most effective method of abatement in the Baton Rouge area, and the program has sprayed 10,000 acres aerially this season, Vaeth said. Ground spraying helps protect smaller areas, Vaeth said. Another method to protect the area from West Nile virus is to kill mosquito larvae in their breeding grounds.  The abatement program also sprays local residences as a free service in some areas of East Baton Rouge. Vaeth encouraged students to take precautions to stay safe, as multiple cases of West Nile virus have been discovered in the area. The local abatement program is actively protecting residents in the area, but it is important for students to take responsibility to protect themselves against the virus as well.  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that residents in the area use repellent, participate in less activity at dusk or dawn, wear clothing that offers maximum coverage and empty standing water around their homes.  Vaeth stressed that even with the large number of West Nile cases this year, precautionary measures by residents in combination with precautions by the abatement programs can help keep residents safe from West Nile.  “We emphasize people take precautions and be responsible,” said Vaeth.
____ Contact Taylor Kimball at [email protected]