Safety Tips for West Nile Virus Season

This article was written by Chi-an Chang.

The West Nile Virus season is just around the corner. As temperatures warm up, mosquitoes will grow, reproduce and be able to transmit the disease to residents.

In 2012 a warm spring and hot, dry summer resulted in more mosquitoes and at least 10 cases in Queens County as well as 12 in Brooklyn, nine in Manhattan, four in the Bronx, six in Staten Island and 14 apiece for Suffolk and Nassau counties. 

Here are some safety tips on how to avoid mosquitoes and West Nile Virus.

• Reduce Exposure - Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are most active, especially between dusk and dawn. Make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut, especially at night. Eliminate all sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flower pots, wading pools, old tires and any other receptacles.
• Repel - When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and apply insect repellent that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR 3535, according to label instructions. Consult a physician before using repellents on infants.
• Report - Beginning May 1, report dead birds or areas of stagnant water in roadside ditches, flooded yards and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes to the city's Health Department by calling 311.