MIDLAND, Texas —
The Midland Health Services is starting to place mosquito traps throughout the county, and the Department of State Health Services is running laboratory tests on mosquitoes to check for diseases.
Due to the laboratory tests on mosquitoes, this is how it was learned that some mosquitoes in midland county were carrying a dangerous disease: West Nile Virus.
The state notified the City of Midland that some of the mosquitoes tested positive for the virus, prompting their announcement yesterday.
Midland health services says that most people who catch West Nile don’t develop symptoms but when they do, they commonly experience a fever among others.
“So, you're going to feel tired, you'll have some muscle, joint pain. Just make sure that if you do feel symptomatic, especially if you have spent time outdoors, that you notify your primary care physician,” said Dr. Whitney Craig, Health Services Manager for the City of Midland.
In extreme cases, West Nile can attack the nervous system and cause meningitis.
But there are simple ways that you can help protect yourself and your family from mosquitoes that could potentially be carrying the virus.
“If you are outside, wear long sleeves, wear pants, make sure that if there's any sitting water that you dump it. So, if you have tires or buckets or like a waiting pool for your puppies, make sure you're dumping that water. It's not sitting around. That creates a breeding ground for mosquitoes and also making sure that you are using a mosquito repellent that is backed by the EPA, which is the environmental protection agency,” Dr. Craig continued.
Dr. Craig says that they’re not trying to scare anyone but instead are just doing their part to keep the community informed and make sure they stay alert while enjoying the outdoors.
“Well, I don't let anybody be scared. It's just something that we have to do in regard to it being a notifiable condition. We want to make sure that the community is aware, we only make the notification after the first positive test result. Now if somebody did become positive if a person became positive, we would make another alert. But this notification is just to let the community know that it's out there and again, just making sure you're careful,” Dr. Craig added.