A sharp increase in mosquitoes carrying the St. Louis Encephalitis virus triggered the Southern Nevada Health District to issue a warning Wednesday.
Since positive mosquito pools were reported earlier this month, 124 submission pools containing 4,380 mosquitoes have tested positive for the virus, according to the Health District's Vector Surveillance Program.
There have been no reported human cases of St. Louis Encephalitis in Clark County since 2007, but the increasing population of mosquitoes that test positive for the virus "raises concern" for the potential transmission to people, officials said.
"This increase in St. Louis Encephalitis-positive mosquitoes serves as an important reminder to our community that we do indeed have mosquitoes in Southern Nevada, and it is important for people to take steps to eliminate breeding sources and to protect themselves from mosquito bites," Dr. Joe Iser, the county's chief health officer, said in a statement.
St. Louis Encephalitis can cause mild infections characterized by fevers and headaches or severe illnesses with symptoms of dizziness, nausea, neck stiffness, confusion, tremors, coma and, in rare instances, long-term disability or death. Children and the elderly are most at risk for complications from the virus.
The Vector Surveillance Program monitors mosquitoes that are known to spread diseases to people and regularly tests the insects for Zika, West Nile Virus, Western Equine Encephalitis and St. Louis Encephalitis.
No West Nile Virus-positive mosquitoes have been identified in Clark County this season, officials said. The mosquito species known to spread viruses such as Zika, chikungunya and dengue have not been detected here either.
Health officials recommend the following practices to protect against virus transmission:
• Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
• Stay in places with air conditioning or door and window screens.
• Sleep under a mosquito net if you're overseas or outside.
• Use Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellents with one of the following ingredients: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus or paramenthane-diol.
• Report green swimming pools or stagnant water sources to local code enforcement agencies. Contact information for those agencies is available here.
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