What's the Buzz? Signing off for the Summer!

August 22, 2008

This is it…the final stretch of my summer, including my summer job. Being the West Nile Virus Student at the Perth District Health Unit has been a fabulous experience, but unfortunately this will be my last blog as I am headed back to school next week.

This week I received some positive feedback about my mosquito trapping gear. When I trap I wear black rubber boots, blue splash pants, a beige jacket with a net hood that zips up around my neck to completely cover my head, and orange gardening gloves. I’ve been very curious as to what people think when they see me. As I was setting up a trap in Listowel a woman said that I looked like I was from outer space. I was very grateful for such an honest remark!

One of the best parts of this job has been the interaction I had with the public. If you are a student that likes a job with variety then you would definitely enjoy this position. It is outside and indoors, independent work and work with others, and there are so many different tasks that need to be done.

I’d like to leave you with some main messages to remember:

-If you find a dead cow or blue jay call the Health Unit.
-Mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide so wear repellent with DEET to block their senses and protect from being bitten.
-The Health Unit covers a broad range of areas- make sure to check out the website if you have questions about something health related. There’s a good chance you will find information you are looking for.
-Rabies is present in Perth County – usually one of the signs that a wild animal has rabies is that it acts strangely and may approach you.
-Mosquito larva breed in standing water, so clean up bird baths, old tires, containers and anything else that holds water where mosquitoes can multiply!

As of now in Ontario, 30 birds have tested positive for WNV and 9 mosquito pools have also tested positive. So it’s out there and it may just be a matter of time before we see it in Perth County.

Before I sign off one final time I’d like to thank my dedicated readers – I hope you’ve learned a lot and enjoyed reading. I’d also like to thank those people at the Health Unit who have been my inspiration and who have helped me to launch this blog. Have a mosquito-free fall and remember – Clean Up and Cover up!!

Joanna MacDonald

Dipping for Larva!

August 5, 2008

Last Thursday I went to see how mosquito larva surveillance is done. This included looking for mosquito larva in water that had collected in ditches as well as treating some standing water where there was a lot of larva. I was taught by the experts from the Canadian Centre for Mosquito Management. They are the ones who do all the mosquito larval surveillance for Perth County.

Mosquito larva can be found in standing water and catch basins. Standing water includes ponds, ditches, puddles and any body of water that is stagnant and not moving. Catch basins are the part of the sewer system that collects water. In order to determine the presence and density of mosquito larva in the water, you have to do a ‘dip’. Basically you have a little cup on the end of a long stick and you dip it in the water then look in to see if there is larva.

The best way I can describe the larva to you is that they look kind of like sea monkeys. They float at the top of the surface to get air and start out very small. They grow larger until they roll into a comma shape and get ready to emerge. They are actually pretty cute in the water but, of course, they grow up to be what we know as mosquitoes, which aren’t so cute!

If you have any standing water on your property – like in bird baths or flower pot trays - make sure you dump it once a week, or if you have a pond, put in an aerator to keep the water moving. Also, get rid of pools of standing water by filling in the depression. Mosquitoes need between 7 to 14 days to grow from eggs into adults. As long as the water is moving or changed regularly, the mosquitoes won’t be able to complete their life cycles.

There is still no West Nile virus found in Perth County yet. So remember until next time …clean up and cover up to keep WNV away!

Joanna MacDonald

Public Health Protectors

July 15, 2008

It has now been over two months since I started at the Health Unit. Before this job, I have to admit that I didn’t have a very good idea of the vastness of areas that are covered by public health in Perth County. Did you know, for example, that you can call in and get travel health advice specific to your trip? For example, if you are going south for the winter, a public health nurse will give you information about any diseases present in the country you are visiting and make sure that you are vaccinated and informed to ensure a safe and healthy visit. Another interesting fact is that many public places in perth county that you may visit are inspected by public health inspectors. These places include restaurants, public pools, and beauty salons/tattoo parlors. There are certain rules and standards which must be met for a business to open and remain open. I have realized there are people watching out for our health and we may not even know it.
In fact…I’m one of those people! I’m hoping to make you aware of the risk of West Nile virus so that you can protect yourself from mosquitoes and help stop them from breeding. I’ve been busy distributing posters around Stratford this morning. This is the third poster run I’ve done in the past two weeks and I hope my efforts are paying off. Please keep an eye out for colourful West Nile posters around the community and do me a favour…take a minute to read them. I know that we are always being bombarded with information and advertising but I assure you that it is worth your while to know how to protect yourself from mosquito bites!

I want to thank everyone who has called in to report dead birds. We have sent in 8 birds so far and all have come back negative for West Nile, which is great news. There was a significant increase in the number of mosquitoes I trapped this week, but none were positive for West Nile. Perhaps you heard the news from Toronto? They have found a positive mosquito. So if you’re planning any trips to the T dot make sure you bring your repellent. Until next time…clean up and cover up!

Joanna MacDonald

Trapping 101

Another week has come and gone. How fast time flies! This week I was in Mitchell and Listowel doing mosquito trapping. It’s a beautiful drive out there. While I was picking up one of the traps in Listowel, a woman approached me to ask what the trap was. (They do look kind of strange hanging on the tree branches.) I explained to the woman that part of the trap is a container that holds dry ice. This ice sublimates (goes from solid directly to gas) so that carbon dioxide gas is released. The carbon dioxide is what attracts the mosquitoes…and boy does it work. The minute I take a container out and start walking with it, I can hear the annoying buzzing sound in my ear! (Don’t worry…I was wearing my long sleeves and long pants.)

So if you put two and two together you can figure out why mosquitoes are attracted to us: initially they sense the CO2 we breathe out. They follow the trail and then when they get closer they can see us and smell us. Also, they are attracted to dark clothes, so try and wear light colours this summer. The way that insect repellents work is by preventing a mosquito from sensing a host. I would also suggest wearing insect repellent with DEET if you are in the woods for a hike or camping. The alternative would be holding your breath… and that may not end very well!

Before I sign off for the week I wanted to give you a quick update on West Nile virus activity in the province. So far there has been one pool of mosquitoes that tested positive for WNV in Windsor and one positive dead crow found in Sarnia. In Perth County, we have tested four birds, but they were all negative for WNV. Phew!

Have a mosquito free week and until next time remember…clean up and cover up.
Joanna

What's the Buzz?

It’s hard to believe it has almost been two months since I started my summer job at the Perth District Health Unit. My name is Joanna and I’m spending my summer as a public health employee as the West Nile Virus student.

To be honest with you, I had no idea what to expect for my summer job. However, after getting acquainted with the program and public health, I’ve quickly eased into it. This summer, I’ll be responsible for three main areas – bird surveillance, mosquito trapping and public education. These three areas allow us to track West Nile Virus in the community and bring awareness to people about cleaning up and covering up.

I’ve picked up my fair share of dead crows and blue jays and I’ve set a number of traps, but I haven’t come across any WNV activity in Stratford, St. Marys or across Perth County as of yet. Hopefully this means that you are all cleaning up standing water so that mosquitoes can’t breed! Even though the hype has gone down somewhat and you may think West Nile Virus isn’t a big threat, it’s a good idea to keep protecting yourself.

But back to the bird pick up…I have to admit I was unsure about how the dead bird collection would go. Picking up dead birds doesn’t sound like the most glamorous of summer jobs! But it’s not that bad! It’s simple and a great way to detect the first signs of WNV in a region. Some people are disgusted by the thought of picking up a dead bird. I just tell myself I am doing a good duty for my cities and county and may possibly be saving someone’s life. Okay…so I may be a bit overdramatic! You can’t get WNV from a bird so it isn’t that dangerous of a deed.

Over the next while I will keep you posted on what’s happening in the County and entertain you with tales of trapping so keep on reading. Until next time...remember to clean up and cover up!

Joanna