Officials: Fall months will increase chances of mosquito-borne illness
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A discovery announced Tuesday in Kingsville is a sign of the months to come. Officials informed residents a mosquito carrying West Nile Virus was captured in a trap.
The mosquito was part of the Culex species of mosquitoes, which can be found in the Rio Grande Valley, said Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Chief Administrative Officer Eddie Olivarez
"That type of mosquito that has the potential to carry that virus is here, it's indigenous to this area,” Olivarez said.
He added there are currently no known cases of virus-positive mosquitoes or positive patients with any mosquito-borne illness in the Valley.
“We don't start seeing mosquito-borne illness in humans until right about now- - the end of September, middle of October," Olivarez said, adding that the increase is tied to people spending more time outdoors during the season.
"It's very concerning for our community, however we just follow our current practices,” Olivarez said. “Right now, we're just working with the cities and the precincts on spraying areas that are impacted by standing water and mosquitoes. We're working with water districts and the precincts larviciding where there's standing water."
Olivarez suggests people wear long sleeves, use DEET repellent or baby oil with eucalyptus if you need an alternative.
Health authorities are also asking people to keep an eye out for standing water and keep their lawns mowed.
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