Utah officials remain stumped about how a Salt Lake City man contracted the Zika virus. Although the man was caring for his father, who died from Zika, he had not traveled to an infected area outside the U.S.
How Zika Spreads
Humans contract the virus via the bite or sting of an carrier insect or animal, or by having unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sex, according to the Center for Disease Control. So far, the most common insect to carry the disease has been mosquitoes, but you don’t commonly find the type of mosquitoes responsible for widespread Caribbean and Latin American outbreaks in Utah.
Salt Lake City Takes Action
Abatement teams from the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District set traps near the family’s home and areas known for mosquito swarms, assisting staff from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. They’ll test the trapped mosquitoes for the virus and kill larvae, explained district manager Ary Faraji. The district put fish that eat mosquito larvae in ponds and areas of standing water such as abandoned pools standing. Their trapping efforts focus on areas known as hot spots for mosquito breeding such as tire yards, automotive salvage yards, junkyards and tree holes.
Mosquitoes that carry zika were found in Utah in 2001 near St. George and in 2013 in Salt Lake City, but were eradicated in each instance. Faraji said it’s important to eliminate the pests before they establishment colonies.
“Once they become established, it is extremely difficult to get rid of those species,” he told The Wyoming News.
Zika in the United States
A similar Zika case in Florida seems to indicate the presence of Zika carrying mosquitoes. Health officials said the infected individual had not traveled outside the U.S. recently.
The majority of the more than 1,300 US cases of Zika were contracted when the patient traveled to a Zika outbreak country. The disease resolves itself in a few days or weeks and requires lab tests or imaging to diagnose. It shares symptoms with many other diseases: a fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. ms. In rare cases, it triggers Guillain-Barré Syndrome which causes paralysis. Zika has caused birth defects when women contracted the disease while pregnant.
What You Can Do
The warm Utah climate makes it an ideal breeding ground for pest like mosquitoes. Homeowners and businesses can make their environments safer by removing artificial containers that collect standing water, a breeding ground for mosquitoes. This includes spare or old tires, unused planters or outdoor decorative items like pots or jugs. Drain and cover unused pools. Have your yard or business sprayed for pests, including mosquitoes.
For professional Utah mosquito control, call 801-566-5590 now!