Dengue Fever
Dengue Fever
For Immediate Release / September 22, 2009
Contact: Chris Tittel
(305) 809-5653 / (305) 924-6839
Inspectors with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District are moving door to door in Old Town Key West, asking residents to unlock their gates and open their yards in the search for containers where pools of standing water may have developed and mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus may be thriving and reproducing.
We're working with residents and business owners to identify problem areas and prevent any further cases of dengue, Mosquito Control Director Ed Fussell said. We couldn't do this important work without their help. Everyone's cooperation as we move forward in this effort is very much appreciated.
Last week, Monroe County Health Department Administrator Bob Eadie issued a health advisory on the presence of dengue in Key West. Two cases of the mosquito-borne illness have been confirmed as having been acquired in Old Town within the past six weeks. Both individuals have fully recovered.
Government agencies are doing all they can to minimize the mosquitos impact on the population, Eadie said. The best way to safeguard you and your loved ones from getting the virus is to take preventive measures against mosquitoes. These include: using repellents to ward off mosquitoes, securing screens on windows and doors, using air conditioners and making sure there are no containers on your property with pools of standing water where mosquitoes can reproduce.
In response to the health advisory, Mosquito Control has increased aerial and ground spraying and environmental surveys and stepped up its door-to-door campaign to clear properties of standing water.
Mikki Coss supervises Mosquito Control's team of domestic inspectors.
Coss said the inspectors are searching for and dumping containers where pools of standing water have developed and Aedes aegypti also known as the container-breeding mosquito may have found a home. Aedes aegypti is the species of mosquito being targeted in the communitywide campaign to prevent the number of dengue cases from increasing. Were glad that so many residents so far have been willing to open their gates to us and let us survey their properties, Coss said. It makes the job of protecting the public so much easier when people invite us in to do what we must do.
If no one is home, the inspector will attach a flyer to the doorknob encouraging the resident to make an appointment with Mosquito Control for a property inspection.
Coleen Fitzsimmons, a biologist and public outreach coordinator with Mosquito Control, said that field inspectors have more on their minds than just eliminating annoying bugs.
It's not nuisance control, she said. It's a public health issue.
Inspectors are also distributing educational flyers, brochures and free DVDs as they go door to door.
George Murphy, moderator of Mosquito Control's weekly television program, explains on the DVD the dangers that container-breeding mosquitoes can pose.
It just takes one container to make life miserable for the entire neighborhood, Murphy says.
He recommends that residents take time to walk through their own yards and empty any containers where pools of standing water may have developed.
Prevention is easy, Murphy says. Five minutes of your time can help create a mosquito-free environment at your house.
More than 100 million cases of dengue occur every year worldwide.
Although a number of cases of dengue are reported in Florida each year in immigrants and travelers to tropical areas, Eadie said that the two recently confirmed cases of dengue in Key West are the first locally acquired cases of dengue reported in more than 40 years in the state.
Symptoms of dengue include high fever, headache and sometimes rash. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should seek care from a medical provider.
For More Information
Florida Keys Mosquito Control District
292-7190 (Lower Keys)
www.keysmosquito.org
Monroe County Health Department
809-5653
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Tune in:
Florida Keys Mosquito Control District
Comcast Channel 5
Wednesdays
7 p.m.