September 18, 2024 • 10 mins
Two cases of the dengue virus reported in west Pasco County. Symptoms include fever, chills, rash and vomiting. We speak with Adriane Rogers, executive director of the Pasco County Mosquito Control District, about what's being done and how to protect yourself.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gordon Bird here Beyond the News. There has been a
case of dingay virus in Pasco County that's transmitted by mosquitos.
That's why we have Adrianne Rodgers with us. She's the
executive director for the Pasco County Mosquito Control District. Adrian Rodgers,
thank you very much for joining us on Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Thank you for having me, Gordon.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
I appreciate the interest in what we have going on
here in Pasco County.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
All right, so you have discovered a case of a
dngay virus in Pasco County and it's often referred to
as dan gay fever, and that's one of the symptoms.
What are some of the other symptoms of an infection.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
The symptoms of dungay virus can include headache, fever, chills,
drop in body temperature, muscle and joint pain, bone pain,
pain behind your eyes, nausea, severe vomiting rash. So these
are all symptoms of dengay.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Now, you are targeting spraying and efforts to reduce the
adult and larvae mosquito population. Tell us about those efforts
and tell us whether they're going to be targeted, if
people are going to be seeing them more in one
particular area of the county over others.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
So we have implemented increased surveillance and control measures in
the affected area. So when I say that, it's in
the western portion of Pasco County north of Ridge Road,
and so what we're doing is trying to mitigate the
risk and prevent further transmission of the virus. So there
are actually two confirmed locally acquired cases of dengay. So
(01:31):
that's an update from what you've seen over the last
twenty four to forty eight hours. And so the Pasco
County Mosquito Control District is really ramping up our efforts
and focusing those control efforts on this particular area so
that we can protect public health, reduce mosquito populations, and
try to lower the potential for additional transmission of dengay
in that area. So what we're doing, we have all
(01:54):
of our technicians are out boots on the ground going
door to door in the affected area, and we're looking
for a specific mosquito species that is capable of transmitting dengay.
This is the eighties a jipde mosquito, and that's our
primary vector species that we have here in Pasco County,
and so we have the teams that are out there
(02:14):
going door to door.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
They're educating homeowners, letting them know that.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
We have an issue in the area and giving them
tips on how they can reduce mosquito exposure and really
prevent further spread. So one thing about this mosquito species
is that they breed in water holding containers around people's homes,
and so that those are things like flower pots, plant trivets,
(02:42):
pet swater dishes, bermeiliad plants, anything that can hold water
can be a breeding source for this particular mosquito. And
so we've got the staff there going door to door
looking for those types of habitats for this particular mosquito
and educating the homeowner. We'll also have our helicopters up
flying this week. We're performing aerial larvaside applications, which means
(03:06):
we are specifically targeting mosquitos in the immature stage that's
before they become flying and biting adults and have the
potential to transmit disease. And then we also have aerial
adult applications that we're performing in the evening.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
We just conducted one last night. We have in addition to.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
That, we're doing a wide area liquid larvaside application by
ground in the very early morning hours. We also have
ground spraying to control adult mosquitos.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
In the evening.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
We have our entomologists team that are out our entomology
team out performing surveillance, heightened surveillance in those areas, actually
looking for that particular's mosquito species, and if we find
adults of them, we're sending them off to the state
laboratory to test to see if they have the virus
actually in the mosquitos themselves as well.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
And of course part of the process, of course is
making sure that the larvae are treated. And I believe
that's a process that you have to kind of go
in and do by hand in those particularly affected areas.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
A lot of the times that is true, yes, because
this particular mosquito is breeding in those areas, those water
holding containers around your homes, it's often very difficult for
us to find those breeding sources. They can be under
your bushes, under a porch, very cryptic, very hidden habitats,
and it's really difficult for us to find all of
(04:29):
those and that's really where homeowners can actually help us
in reducing mosquito populations and really help to benefit our
collective effort in keeping mosquito populations down. If you have
any of those items around, anything that can collect water
and remain stagnant for three to five days will become
a breeding.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Site for this particular mosquito.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Something as small as a bottle cap will actually breed mosquitos.
So they really only need about a teaspoon of water
to produce, which is which is really incredible. So you know,
just think about anything that could potentially be in your
yard that can hold water that is a potential breeding
site for this particular mosquito.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
And we'll talk about people making sure they cover up
in just a moment, just a quick check. Since there
are two cases, now, do you have a timeline as
far as when these manifested?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So it has all been in the last few weeks.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Typically we look at the date of the onsend of
symptoms and sort of trace cases back that way. So
we have our typical response when we are notified of
a human case such as this from the health department.
We work very closely with our partners there at Pasco Health,
and once we're notified of the suspicion that there is
(05:42):
a case in the area, we are out doing our
surveillance and control efforts, so before we even have confirmatory
blood testing back the results, we are out there really
just trying to get in front of it and do
what we can to reduce mosquito population. So these cases
actually by by the time they get reported to us,
(06:03):
it often takes a little bit of time, right, So
if someone is sick and they go to seek medical attention,
it could be a week or two after they've already
had symptoms, and so then they're getting tested, which could
take another few days for blood work to come back,
and then the notification to the state is happening, which
(06:24):
then we're notified at mosquito Control and so it often
there's a lag between when someone actually becomes ill with
the virus and when we are notified so that we
can get out there and perform our control.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Efforts, which is.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Often a little frustrating for us because you know, we
want to get out there as soon as we possibly can.
And so that's really where timely reporting and seeking medical
attention is important. You know, if people are ill, if
they're displaying any of those symptoms, don't write it off
as you know, the cold or a flu especially if
you're in that area of Pesco, go ahead and seek
(07:03):
medical attention and specifically ask your physician to test for
mosquito born disease. The identification of the virus is often
very difficult as well, and so we really want to
make sure we're trying to capture as many pieces to
this puzzle as we can.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
We talk about draining and covering and standing water and
making sure that you don't get bitten by a mosquito.
Let's go over those aspects of it so that homeowners
and people who live in that area can take precautions
to prevent hopefully becoming a case of.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Dingate, to prevent.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Further transmission of virus, and to reduce mosquito populations. We
really want people to think of the term drain and
cover residents, We're urging you all to follow precautions, protect yourselves,
protect your families, drain standing water. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water,
so regularly go outside check those those containers. Think some
(08:04):
of the thing that people don't necessarily think about gutters.
If gutters get clogged up with leaves and other debriathe
and they're holding water, and so often you find mosquito
breeding and gutters.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
So check your gutters.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Look at any garbage can lids that may be turned
over or garbage cans themselves, recycling bins. Look at buckets
or pool covers, coolers, toys, flower pots, anything that can
hold water. Dump out that water. Discard things that you
don't need to have out in your yard, things like
use tires, drums, bottles, cans, pots, and pans. Those types
(08:37):
of things also accumulate water. So if you don't need
them around, clear them out, get them out of there.
If you can bird baths, empty and clean out your
bird baths, pets, water dishes, things like that that you
may not really think about. Make sure you're cleaning out
those things very frequently, at least once per week. Really
help and get that out of the equation. If you
(09:00):
have tarps on your boats or other vehicles, make sure
they're pulled taut so that water cannot accumulate. Also, cover
up skin. We want you to take precaution and take
preventative measures so that you aren't being bitten by mosquitos.
So when we talk about covering up, we're talking about clothing, wear, socks, wear, shoes,
(09:22):
long pants, long sleeved shirts to minimize exposed skin. This
type of protection may be necessary for people who work
outside during the day. I mean especially for those individuals.
This mosquito is active during the day, so it's not
your typical dawn and dusk bier. So even if you're
out in the middle of the day, we want you
to take these necessary precautions as well. Any exposed skin
(09:45):
that you can't cover up, use an insect repellent, something
that is us EPA approved, something with the active ingredients
deep or picartin. Those are going to be effective at
keeping mosquitoes away from you and avoid being out outside
where mosquitoes are very active or times of high mosquito activity.
(10:05):
Keep your doors and windows closed. Don't let mosquitos in
your house. If you have your windows and doors open,
have screens on those windows, and make sure those screens
are in good repair so mosquitoes can't come inside your home.
These are all things that you can do to protect
yourself and your loved ones and reduce your exposure to
mosquito bites.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
We wish you best of success in getting this under control,
and we hope there are no more cases of dinge
in Pasco County. Adrian Rogers, executive director for the Pasco
County Mosquito Control District. Thank you very much for joining
us on beyond the news.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Thank you so much. I'm glad to be here.
Gordon Bird here Beyond the News. There has been a
case of dingay virus in Pasco County that's transmitted by mosquitos.
That's why we have Adrianne Rodgers with us. She's the
executive director for the Pasco County Mosquito Control District. Adrian Rodgers,
thank you very much for joining us on Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Thank you for having me, Gordon.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
I appreciate the interest in what we have going on
here in Pasco County.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
All right, so you have discovered a case of a
dngay virus in Pasco County and it's often referred to
as dan gay fever, and that's one of the symptoms.
What are some of the other symptoms of an infection.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
The symptoms of dungay virus can include headache, fever, chills,
drop in body temperature, muscle and joint pain, bone pain,
pain behind your eyes, nausea, severe vomiting rash. So these
are all symptoms of dengay.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Now, you are targeting spraying and efforts to reduce the
adult and larvae mosquito population. Tell us about those efforts
and tell us whether they're going to be targeted, if
people are going to be seeing them more in one
particular area of the county over others.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
So we have implemented increased surveillance and control measures in
the affected area. So when I say that, it's in
the western portion of Pasco County north of Ridge Road,
and so what we're doing is trying to mitigate the
risk and prevent further transmission of the virus. So there
are actually two confirmed locally acquired cases of dengay. So
(01:31):
that's an update from what you've seen over the last
twenty four to forty eight hours. And so the Pasco
County Mosquito Control District is really ramping up our efforts
and focusing those control efforts on this particular area so
that we can protect public health, reduce mosquito populations, and
try to lower the potential for additional transmission of dengay
in that area. So what we're doing, we have all
(01:54):
of our technicians are out boots on the ground going
door to door in the affected area, and we're looking
for a specific mosquito species that is capable of transmitting dengay.
This is the eighties a jipde mosquito, and that's our
primary vector species that we have here in Pasco County,
and so we have the teams that are out there
(02:14):
going door to door.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
They're educating homeowners, letting them know that.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
We have an issue in the area and giving them
tips on how they can reduce mosquito exposure and really
prevent further spread. So one thing about this mosquito species
is that they breed in water holding containers around people's homes,
and so that those are things like flower pots, plant trivets,
(02:42):
pet swater dishes, bermeiliad plants, anything that can hold water
can be a breeding source for this particular mosquito. And
so we've got the staff there going door to door
looking for those types of habitats for this particular mosquito
and educating the homeowner. We'll also have our helicopters up
flying this week. We're performing aerial larvaside applications, which means
(03:06):
we are specifically targeting mosquitos in the immature stage that's
before they become flying and biting adults and have the
potential to transmit disease. And then we also have aerial
adult applications that we're performing in the evening.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
We just conducted one last night. We have in addition to.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
That, we're doing a wide area liquid larvaside application by
ground in the very early morning hours. We also have
ground spraying to control adult mosquitos.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
In the evening.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
We have our entomologists team that are out our entomology
team out performing surveillance, heightened surveillance in those areas, actually
looking for that particular's mosquito species, and if we find
adults of them, we're sending them off to the state
laboratory to test to see if they have the virus
actually in the mosquitos themselves as well.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
And of course part of the process, of course is
making sure that the larvae are treated. And I believe
that's a process that you have to kind of go
in and do by hand in those particularly affected areas.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
A lot of the times that is true, yes, because
this particular mosquito is breeding in those areas, those water
holding containers around your homes, it's often very difficult for
us to find those breeding sources. They can be under
your bushes, under a porch, very cryptic, very hidden habitats,
and it's really difficult for us to find all of
(04:29):
those and that's really where homeowners can actually help us
in reducing mosquito populations and really help to benefit our
collective effort in keeping mosquito populations down. If you have
any of those items around, anything that can collect water
and remain stagnant for three to five days will become
a breeding.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Site for this particular mosquito.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Something as small as a bottle cap will actually breed mosquitos.
So they really only need about a teaspoon of water
to produce, which is which is really incredible. So you know,
just think about anything that could potentially be in your
yard that can hold water that is a potential breeding
site for this particular mosquito.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
And we'll talk about people making sure they cover up
in just a moment, just a quick check. Since there
are two cases, now, do you have a timeline as
far as when these manifested?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So it has all been in the last few weeks.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Typically we look at the date of the onsend of
symptoms and sort of trace cases back that way. So
we have our typical response when we are notified of
a human case such as this from the health department.
We work very closely with our partners there at Pasco Health,
and once we're notified of the suspicion that there is
(05:42):
a case in the area, we are out doing our
surveillance and control efforts, so before we even have confirmatory
blood testing back the results, we are out there really
just trying to get in front of it and do
what we can to reduce mosquito population. So these cases
actually by by the time they get reported to us,
(06:03):
it often takes a little bit of time, right, So
if someone is sick and they go to seek medical attention,
it could be a week or two after they've already
had symptoms, and so then they're getting tested, which could
take another few days for blood work to come back,
and then the notification to the state is happening, which
(06:24):
then we're notified at mosquito Control and so it often
there's a lag between when someone actually becomes ill with
the virus and when we are notified so that we
can get out there and perform our control.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Efforts, which is.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Often a little frustrating for us because you know, we
want to get out there as soon as we possibly can.
And so that's really where timely reporting and seeking medical
attention is important. You know, if people are ill, if
they're displaying any of those symptoms, don't write it off
as you know, the cold or a flu especially if
you're in that area of Pesco, go ahead and seek
(07:03):
medical attention and specifically ask your physician to test for
mosquito born disease. The identification of the virus is often
very difficult as well, and so we really want to
make sure we're trying to capture as many pieces to
this puzzle as we can.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
We talk about draining and covering and standing water and
making sure that you don't get bitten by a mosquito.
Let's go over those aspects of it so that homeowners
and people who live in that area can take precautions
to prevent hopefully becoming a case of.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Dingate, to prevent.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Further transmission of virus, and to reduce mosquito populations. We
really want people to think of the term drain and
cover residents, We're urging you all to follow precautions, protect yourselves,
protect your families, drain standing water. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water,
so regularly go outside check those those containers. Think some
(08:04):
of the thing that people don't necessarily think about gutters.
If gutters get clogged up with leaves and other debriathe
and they're holding water, and so often you find mosquito
breeding and gutters.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
So check your gutters.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Look at any garbage can lids that may be turned
over or garbage cans themselves, recycling bins. Look at buckets
or pool covers, coolers, toys, flower pots, anything that can
hold water. Dump out that water. Discard things that you
don't need to have out in your yard, things like
use tires, drums, bottles, cans, pots, and pans. Those types
(08:37):
of things also accumulate water. So if you don't need
them around, clear them out, get them out of there.
If you can bird baths, empty and clean out your
bird baths, pets, water dishes, things like that that you
may not really think about. Make sure you're cleaning out
those things very frequently, at least once per week. Really
help and get that out of the equation. If you
(09:00):
have tarps on your boats or other vehicles, make sure
they're pulled taut so that water cannot accumulate. Also, cover
up skin. We want you to take precaution and take
preventative measures so that you aren't being bitten by mosquitos.
So when we talk about covering up, we're talking about clothing, wear, socks, wear, shoes,
(09:22):
long pants, long sleeved shirts to minimize exposed skin. This
type of protection may be necessary for people who work
outside during the day. I mean especially for those individuals.
This mosquito is active during the day, so it's not
your typical dawn and dusk bier. So even if you're
out in the middle of the day, we want you
to take these necessary precautions as well. Any exposed skin
(09:45):
that you can't cover up, use an insect repellent, something
that is us EPA approved, something with the active ingredients
deep or picartin. Those are going to be effective at
keeping mosquitoes away from you and avoid being out outside
where mosquitoes are very active or times of high mosquito activity.
(10:05):
Keep your doors and windows closed. Don't let mosquitos in
your house. If you have your windows and doors open,
have screens on those windows, and make sure those screens
are in good repair so mosquitoes can't come inside your home.
These are all things that you can do to protect
yourself and your loved ones and reduce your exposure to
mosquito bites.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
We wish you best of success in getting this under control,
and we hope there are no more cases of dinge
in Pasco County. Adrian Rogers, executive director for the Pasco
County Mosquito Control District. Thank you very much for joining
us on beyond the news.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Thank you so much. I'm glad to be here.
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