NDA NEWS
SPARKS, Nev. – The Nevada Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease and Food Safety Laboratory identified its first positive West Nile Virus sample collected in northern Nevada this year.
A positive mosquito (Culex tarsalis) pool sample was collected from Douglas County. Clark County has already reported human cases of West Nile Virus.
More than 700 samples from statewide surveillance have been submitted to the laboratory at the Department’s Sparks office since May.
“All horse owners should update their animal’s West Nile Virus vaccination,” said Dr. Annette Rink, acting state veterinarian and supervisor of the Animal Disease and Food Safety Laboratory.
Four effective vaccines exist for horses, but vaccine development for humans is still under way with currently no available product in sight.
“Nevada has had cases of West Nile Virus since 2003,” Dr. Rink said. “This should serve as a reminder, especially to people 50 years and older, to use repellent containing DEET and to wear long sleeves, pants and socks when outside, especially during dawn and dusk. Also, remove any standing water from around your house and check to make sure your window screens fit properly.”
CDC evaluation of information contained in peer-reviewed scientific literature, and data available from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have identified several EPA registered products that provide repellent activity sufficient to help people avoid the bites of disease carrying mosquitoes. Products containing these active ingredients typically provide reasonably long-lasting protection:
- DEET (Chemical Name: N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide or N,N-diethly-3-methyl-benzamide)
- Picaridin (KBR 3023, Chemical Name: 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperidinecarboxylic acid 1-methylpropyl ester )
- Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus* or PMD (Chemical Name: para-Menthane-3,8-diol) the synthesized version of oil of lemon eucalyptus
- IR3535 (Chemical Name: 3-[N-Butyl-N-acetyl]-aminopropionic acid, ethyl ester)
EPA characterizes the active ingredients DEET and Picaridin as “conventional repellents” and Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, PMD, and IR3535 as “biopesticide repellents”, which are derived from natural materials. For more information on repellent active ingredients, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/mosquitoes/ai_insectrp.htm.
