West Nile cases on the rise in Texas
Mosquitos are back in full force, and AccuWeather's Bill Wadell is live reporting states that are seeing mosquito resistance to insecticides, as well as West Nile increases in humans.
Transcript
00:00 The weather isn't the only thing
00:01 and the heat isn't the only thing
00:02 that's bugging families trying to enjoy some time outdoors.
00:06 Mosquitoes are back in full force.
00:08 AccuWeather's Bill Waddell is live this morning,
00:11 but Bill, there are some serious health risks
00:13 experts are worried about.
00:15 - Yeah, that's right, Ari, Christina, good morning to you.
00:19 There are researchers telling us
00:21 that there's a growing number of reports coming in
00:23 of states where they're seeing
00:26 mosquito resistance to insecticides.
00:28 That's the stuff that crews use,
00:31 city governments, even businesses,
00:33 they bring in those trucks or those big backpacks
00:35 and they spray mosquito hotspots
00:37 trying to kill not just the bugs, but their eggs as well.
00:41 And we've also been hearing from researchers at Mayo Clinic
00:44 and they tell us that West Nile virus in humans
00:47 is a big health concern right now.
00:48 Dr. Bobby Pritz says,
00:50 "Some people bit by an infected mosquito
00:52 "may have no symptoms, but others,
00:55 "they may have fever, headache, body aches, and rashes.
00:59 "Fatigue or other health issues could last for days,
01:02 "sometimes even months."
01:04 - Mosquito that's most commonly implicated
01:08 is the Culex mosquito,
01:11 different than the Anopheles mosquito
01:13 that transmits malaria.
01:14 West Nile virus infection is usually diagnosed
01:18 by detecting antibodies in a patient's blood sample.
01:23 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Arbonet
01:26 are reporting 90 human cases of West Nile virus in 17 states.
01:31 Arizona, Texas, and South Dakota
01:33 are at the top of the list right now.
01:35 Now, the best advice to avoid mosquito bites,
01:38 the experts tell us, wear long sleeves, wear pants,
01:41 and of course, Ari, to use this repellent
01:44 that has D in it to try to keep the bugs away.
01:47 And coming up in our next hour,
01:49 we're gonna have a closer look
01:50 at how some of the weather trends
01:51 have extended the mosquito season
01:53 in many parts of the country.
01:55 I'm just glad we're not dealing with the bugs
01:56 out here this morning.
01:57 We got lucky.
01:58 - Yeah, we did.
01:59 And Bill's spent plenty of time in Texas,
02:01 and things are true.
02:02 Everything's bigger in Texas, including the bugs.
02:04 Bill, thank you so much for that report.