Atlanta’s First West Nile Mosquitos of the Year Identified

DeKalb County is one of a handful of counties statewide with a comprehensive mosquito monitoring program, so it is no surprise this year’s first West Nile mosquitos turned up there. A sample vial of mosquitos, collected more than a week ago near the Emory University campus, tested positive.

In Fulton County, two recent mosquito samples have tested positive; they were collected Chastain Park and Whittier Mills Park.

The West Nile season is starting a little later than usual, according to Juanette Willis, the DeKalb County Board of Health’s Arbovirus Coordinator. “We’re seeing less of the mosquito species that typically carries West Nile Virus,” said Willis. “They breed in small, manmade containers full of rich organic matter. Right now, with all the heavy rains we have been getting, it’s been constant enough that those containers have been getting flushed out of the larvae.”

Willis says the first human cases are usually identified in August with some occurring as late as October.

In addition to clearing standing water, health officials recommend that you use repellant that contains DEET.

Willis’s personal tip: use a spray containing permethrin on a light-weight shirt and keep it by the door for short trips outside. West Nile mosquitos typically do their biting at dawn and dusk.