Delta County is working on West Nile hotspot status | Western Colorado

So far this year, Colorado has reported 116 cases of West Nile fever, including 72 hospitalizations and 5 deaths, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Delta County reports 16 cases and one death, making it the state leader in West Nile per capita cases. According to the 2020 census, Delta County’s population is less than 1% of the state’s population, but 16 cases represent 13.8% of Colorado’s population.

Larimer County is the only county in Colorado that reports more cases than Delta County, with 18 people.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Maricopa County has a population of about 4.5 million.

According to preliminary CDC data, Delta County has the highest per capita incidence of West Nile virus in the United States in more than 10 counties in 2021.

Numbers this season continue to trend towards finding the county one of the worst areas for West Nile in the last few years.

According to preliminary CDC data, which was the only county in Colorado to report more than 10 cases, Delta County will also have a per capita percentage of West Nile among counties with more than 10 cases in 2020. It was the highest.

And in 2019, according to the CDC, Delta County reported 30 cases, more than any other county in the United States except Maricopa and Los Angeles counties.

So why does Delta County not only have a higher incidence of West Nile fever than the rest of the country, but also a much higher incidence than its neighbors in western Colorado?

Greg Rajnowski, director of environmental health in Delta County, said mosquitoes are growing in Delta County because there are no mosquito mitigation areas throughout the county.

Delta County has two mosquito control areas: Delta Mosquitoes District 1, which covers the area around Delta and southern Orchard City, and Northfolk Mosquitoes Conservation Area, which covers the stapler and Paonia regions.

Part of the West Nile fever problem in Delta County is that mosquito districts cover only part of the county, but mosquitoes don’t just stay in those areas.

“More than one-third of Delta County has zero mosquito control, including many areas of Crawford, Lazear and staplers, Rogers Mesa, Powell Mesa, and Hanson Mesa from central to upper. Delta # 1 is a large area. Serving, but not Cedar Edge, Surface. Creek, or Grand Mesa ”, read the message on the North Fork Mosquito Extermination Area website from July 2020 ..

“Where are the mosquitoes? No matter where the people are,” Rajnowski said. “Mosquitoes travel, people travel.”

Among the rest of the county, Rajnowski said Cedaredge contracts for mosquito “fog” three times a year.

Adult “fog” is thought to be less effective than reducing larvae. The town of Cedar Edge did not respond to requests for more information on mosquito mitigation efforts.

Rajnowski said it was unclear if mitigation measures were in place in Austin, Eckert, Crawford, Orchard City, or the Gunnison Valley area.

Due to the nature of Delta County’s mosquito control patchwork, authorities are uncertain whether mosquito mitigation actually hits mosquito hotspots, Rajnowski said, and more available to create mosquito districts throughout the county. Unless you have the money, it probably won’t change, leaving no gaps in coverage.

“Just because we’re trapping and mitigating along the confluence (where the Gunnison and Uncompahgre rivers meet) doesn’t mean they’ll stay there,” said Rajnowski.

“That is, mosquitoes move,” he said.

For example, according to Rajnowski, mosquitoes in the area of ​​the confluence of the Gunnison and Ancompagre rivers can travel hundreds of feet to miles and out of the mosquito area.

Rajnowski said that if the county had a larger mosquito district, instead of focusing on mosquito traps, it would have more mitigation capabilities than surveillance.

Rajnoswki, who has been working since January, is working on creating a larger mosquito district, but at this point it is unclear where the money comes from. He plans to talk to the Cedaredge Town Council early next year, but there are a lot of people involved in the discussion and they are all thinking about other things.

“We are all busy,” he said. “There are too many things to do and there are not enough people.

“Ideally, we want you to pursue a county-wide strategy, not just count the traps here in the delta,” Rajnowski said.

That way, the county could fold some areas where there is no mosquito mitigation, Rajnowski said.

“I hope all of us will be a little more tuned and a little more effective next year,” says Rajnowski. “It’s like something. What can you do with a million dollars?”

“At some point we’re hit and someone will have to fund it,” Rajnowski said.

One person who can talk about the benefits of having a large mosquito district is Tim Moore, the manager of the Grand River Mosquito Control District. The area covers the Grand Valley and has mosquito traps in a triangular area pointed to island acres, macs and white water.

In the Grand River district, West Nile virus was once positive for being very fat this year, but no human cases in Mesa County have been reported.

According to Moore, the Grand River area is so large that it can handle all the necessary areas where mosquitoes can be found, but problems can occur in smaller, resource-poor areas.

“It’s very useful because mosquitoes can go wherever they are,” Moore said.

According to Rajnowski, another problem facing Delta County is the difficulty in obtaining dry ice for mosquito repellent, causing staff turnover in mosquito districts, state laboratories to test and record results. There is a wide range of delays in the delivery process.

“We are very scarce in resources,” said Rajnowski.

From time to time, Rajnowski said he would know about cases of human West Nile fever before the health department knew about West Nile fever mosquito pools because of the delay in getting test results for mosquito pools.

Data delays from state laboratories are currently a major issue, Rajnowski said.

“If we don’t have staff to identify, monitor and mitigate this, it’s difficult to counter this,” says Rajnowski.

The mosquito district also discovered another obstacle to their work: the COVID-19 pandemic.

The message on the North Fork Mosquito Abandoned Area website is as follows: “Due to the current COVID-19 emergency, the North Fork Mosquito Eradication District maintains compliance with all state obligations. This requires operation at a low crew level. This is the district’s What does it mean to the inhabitants? All residents must crack down on their property for mosquito activity. Known early activity sites, primarily public areas, irrigation fields, culverts and rainwater pipes, and The town’s commercial area is prioritized. NFMAD is significantly underfunded and covers a vast terrain of 50 square miles. The district is surrounded by areas with zero mosquito control. “

Requests for comment were not answered by the district, but the district’s answering machine message stated that the district was operated by a “skeleton crew” for COVID-19.

The first website of the Delta County Mosquito Control District pointed out that mosquitoes do not have COVID-19. The district did not respond to requests for comment.

According to the Colorado State University Extension, West Nile virus was first detected in the United States in 1999 and first in Colorado in 2002. Cases have been reported in Africa, Europe, Central and West Asia.

About 1 in 5 people infected with West Nile will get sick, and 1 in 150 will get seriously ill.

According to the CDC, locally acquired cases of West Nile fever have been reported in all states except Hawaii and Alaska, and the spread of West Nile fever is due to mosquito and bird populations, human behavior, and environmental factors. It depends on factors such as.

According to the State Department of Health, Colorado typically has about 100 cases of West Nile fever each season from May to October.

According to the sector, including Delta County, there are several counties in Colorado where cases of West Nile fever are more common.

According to the CSU Extension, control efforts are primarily directed at mosquito larvae, where breeding grounds are treated with pesticides.

Control of adults, known as “fogs,” occurs in areas where West Nile fever is detected in mosquito pools.

Larval mitigation is far more effective than clouding adult mosquitoes because it provides a source of mosquito breeding, Rajnowski said.

According to Moore, the workload in his area is about 90% larval reduction and about 10% cloudy.

The fog is always done at night to avoid people and bees, never with the people around him, Moore said.

According to the CSU extension, fog is considered successful when the adult mosquito population is reduced by 50%, but the killed mosquitoes are replaced immediately.

“The fog killing effect lasts only an hour or two. Killed mosquitoes are replaced by mosquitoes that come from untreated areas or emerge from breeding grounds after treatment,” said the CSU Extension. The website states.

According to the CSU extension, a notice is required before clouding mosquitoes.

Meanwhile, Rajnowski emphasizes four Ds to ward off mosquitoes until the end of the season.

The four Ds are stands for draining standing water, using effective insect repellent sprays such as those containing DEET, staying inside during mosquito activity such as dusk, and long sleeves. And wear trousers.

Residents must follow these guidelines until the end of the mosquito season. This is usually the first frost.

“This is the time to prevent when you go out,” Rajnowski said.