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Mosquito test at Lake Avondale comes back positive for West Nile Virus

Avondale Estates

Mosquito test at Lake Avondale comes back positive for West Nile Virus

Lake Avondale. Source: Avondaleestates.org
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Lake Avondale. Source: Avondaleestates.org

Lake Avondale. Source: Avondaleestates.org

This story has been updated. 

The city of Avondale Estates reports that the DeKalb County Board of Health detected West Nile Virus in mosquitoes in the sampling station at Lake Avondale.

“While most people infected with West Nile virus have no symptoms or experience mild flu-like symptoms, the virus potentially can cause serious and sometimes fatal illness,” a press release from the city says. “The risk of severe illness and death is highest for people over 50 years old, although people of all ages can become ill.The easiest and best way to avoid West Nile virus is to prevent mosquito bites.”

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The bulletin says that the risk for transmitting West Nile exists throughout the metro Atlanta area, and transmission is a higher risk in Avondale Estates due to the positive test result.

Here are some recommended tips to prevent mosquito bites, provided by the city.

– Apply insect repellent. DEET (N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide), picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus and IR3535 are effective repellents recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information, please see the Centers for Disease Control website.

– When possible, wear long sleeves, long pants and socks. Clothing may also be treated with permethrin.

– Use extra care when mosquitoes are most active, particularly at dusk and dawn.

“DeKalb County Board of Health is aggressively working to prevent West Nile virus transmission. Program technicians will be in the area providing additional mosquito control services including applying larvicide and investigating for mosquito breeding sites,” the bulletin says. “The larvicide product, metheprene, will keep mosquito larvae from developing into flying biting insects.”

The city is asking residents to empty containers any other receptacles holding standing water for five or more days. The city says residents can dump and rinse bird baths twice a week and they will need to be monitored. The city also recommends cleaning and inspecting gutters for proper drainage.

“Contact the Division of Environmental Health at 404-508-7900 with any questions or concerns on this matter,” the city’s bulletin says. “City Hall sells mosquito dunks for $1 each. Please see Karen Holmes at the front desk to purchase one.”

The bulletin contains the following links concerning West Nile Virus:

Centers for Disease Control -WNV

DeKalb County Board of Health – WNV

West Nile Virus was also discovered in Fulton County last year. According to the Fulton County Health Department, ““Fewer than 1 percent of people infected with West Nile Virus become ill. Those who do get sick often suffer a mild flu-like illness and recover without treatment.”

At the beginning of this summer, Atlanta-based Orkin, a pest control company, put out the rankings of America’s Top Mosquito Cities. Atlanta was at the top of the list.

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