| As the weather starts heating
up here in Maricopa County, with it comes West Nile virus season.
Maricopa County Departments of Public
Health and Environmental
Services work closely to protect residents of Maricopa County
against West Nile Virus (WNV), but there is also a lot you can do
to reduce your risk of contracting the disease.
Avoid mosquito bites by: |
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- Using insect repellent.
- Wearing light-colored long pants and long-sleeved shirts to
cover exposed skin.
- Limiting outside exposure during the evening hours when mosquito
activity is at its highest.
- Eliminating mosquitoes inside your house.
Environmental Services has the tough job of locating
areas where there is a lot of mosquito activity, catching those
mosquitoes and then testing them to see if they have the virus.
They also respond to all complaints
related to green pools, stagnant water, dead birds and of course
mosquitoes. Using such tools as mosquito testing, Environmental
Services is the front line in informing residents know where WNV
is in the county.
Public Health works with Environmental on the human side of the
virus. Working with hospitals throughout the county, Public Health
does human surveillance trying to find hot spots in the Valley and
monitoring any patients that come in with potential WNV symptoms.
Together both departments work to educate the public about what
they can do to protect themselves and their family from contracting
WNV.
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