West Nile virus activity is increasing in Sutter County, mosquito district officials say
Sutter County officials reported Friday that West Nile virus activity now is increasing in their area, as a second mosquito sample tested positive for the virus.
Stephen Abshier, the manager of the Yuba-Sutter Mosquito Vector Control District, cautioned Yuba and Sutter county residents: “Protect yourself by applying a good mosquito repellent and by wearing long sleeves and pants at dawn and dusk when mosquito activity is high. This will go a long way in preventing mosquito bites.”
Leaders of the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito Vector Control District said earlier this week that Yolo County had its first positive mosquito sample for West Nile, and samples continue to be reported in a wide swath of Sacramento County ranging from Elk Grove to south Sacramento to a V-shaped area between Interstate 80 and Highway 50.
The West Nile virus causes inflammation that can damage the brain and central nervous system and can lead to death. No cure exists.
If you get West Nile virus, you may experience overwhelming fatigue, terrible muscle aches and headaches, but many people may have it but feel no symptoms. Seek medical care if your symptoms are serious. In severe cases, hospitals provide supportive care such as pain medications and intravenous fluids that can help people overcome it.
People who have recovered from a severe West Nile infection have reported ongoing problems with fatigue and neurological damage. So, as with stroke, doctors say, it’s best to start rehabilitation as early as possible.
West Nile virus activity also has been reported in birds or mosquitoes up and down much of the Central Valley, including San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera and Fresno counties but also in a horse in the Gold Country county of Amador.
Vector district officials in Merced and San Joaquin counties also reported that the invasive yellow fever mosquito, formally known as Aedes aegypti, has been detected in Le Grand and Stockton this season. In addition to yellow fever, this mosquito can transmit dengue, chikungunya and Zika.
Zika’s symptoms of fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis are typically mild, but it can cause birth defects. This virus can be passed not only by the mosquito but through sex with someone infected with illness.
Chikungunya is rarely fatal but can leave those infected with joint pain for months. Severe dengue fever can be life-threatening, but only one in four people get symptoms from the infection. It causes nausea, vomiting, rashes and aches and pains.
The Aedes aegypti, a small black and white mosquito that is aggressive during daylight hours, has not transmitted Zika, dengue, chikungunya or yellow fever in California. Still, vector control districts say they need the public’s help in calling in sightings.
In Yuba and Sutter counties, the mosquito vector district is using truck-mounted foggers on Thursday evenings to treat urban areas with high levels of West Nile virus activity, officials said, and the district is also spraying twice a week in the Live Oak and Shanghai Bend areas of Yuba City.
An aircraft also is being used to treat agricultural areas in several areas of the counties. To see where mosquito treatments are occurring, Sutter and Yuba county residents can go to sutter-yubamvcd.org. Sacramento and Yolo County residents can find this information at fightthebite.net.
This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 3:02 PM.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story included information from the California Department of Public Health that a mosquito carrying Zika virus had been detected in Antelope, Carmichael, Fresno County, Madera County, Roseville and Stanislaus County, but those samples were from prior years.
