Tuesday, August 21, 2012

More about West Nile virus


The Culex mosquitos can carry West Nile virus. With no vaccines or medications to treat West Nile virus, our best protection is prevention. 
How can we protect our families from West Nile Virus?  The CDC gives these suggestions:  avoid mosquito bites. Make ourselves unattractive by using mosquito repellant when we go outdoors, wear long sleeves and pants, especially between dusk and dawn when the Culex mosquito likes to feed.  Stay inside and use your air conditioning.  If no air conditioning, replace window and door screens to keep mosquitos outside.  One last suggestion:  get rid of standing water such as flower pots, buckets, etc where mosquitoes can breed.  http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/RepellentUpdates.htm
What type of mosquito repellent do the experts recommend?  The CDC staff suggests mosquito repellents which contain DEET, Picaridin, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus or IR3535 on our skin.  If you want to use repellents on your clothing, permethrin is the suggested chemical for clothing, shoes, etc.  For precautions about using insect repellents safely, see the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/RepellentUpdates.htm

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