West Nile alert extends to 3 Suncoast counties

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 28, 2001

Pasco, Hernando and Citrus are among 12 counties the state added Thursday to its list of those under a "medical alert" for the West Nile virus.

But health officials said people should be taking the same precautions as before the alert against mosquito bites, which spread West Nile: Stay indoors at dusk and dawn, wear repellent and long sleeves if you go out, and get rid of standing water around the house.

"It is exactly the same," said Chris Abarca, the acting Health Education Program manager at the Pasco County Health Department. "It's just heightened awareness but the same precautions."

The State Health Department extended the alert area Thursday to include these counties: Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Collier, Miami-Dade, Flagler, Lake, Lee, Putnam, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia. In all, 48 of 67 Florida counties are under a medical alert.

Since West Nile was found in Florida in July, public health officials have been warning people statewide to take precautions against mosquito bites. The medical alert, they said, is just meant to increase awareness in certain areas.

"People really need to pay attention to those warnings, especially now," said Dr. Steven Wiersma, acting chief of the bureau of epidemiology for the state Department of Health.

Wiersma said dead birds with the West Nile virus had turned up in the North Suncoast in increasing numbers, which caused enough concern to extend the alert area.

West Nile is rarely serious in humans. So far, seven Floridians have contracted West Nile virus, but researchers said it is likely that scores more have had it and never knew because most people either have no symptoms or have flu-like feelings for three to six days. The latest case, a 54-year-old nurse in the Keys, wasn't even hospitalized.

No human cases have been diagnosed in the Tampa Bay area. The first animal case of West Nile to appear in the area was a bird found July 24 in east Pasco County, near County Road 54 and Wire Road.

On Aug. 6, a dead dove found in Holiday, near Perrine Ranch Road and Grand Boulevard, tested positive for West Nile, the results of which were learned this week.

A dead grackle, found Aug. 9 in Lucerne Park, northeast of Winter Haven in Polk County, then tested positive for the virus. Polk County was not included in the alert area.

Then, on Aug. 17, a dead dove was found near Mariner and Elgin boulevards in Spring Hill, in Hernando County, about 30 miles north of the second Pasco case.

Five days later, a bird in Lecanto in Citrus County tested positive for the virus.

Scientists have said it's only a matter of time before West Nile spreads across the state and the nation.

And since the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, FAA restrictions on small aircraft flights have made it difficult for mosquito control planes to fly spraying missions. Mosquito control planes and helicopters in Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas have been grounded since Sunday.

Doug Wassmer, entomologist at the Pasco County Mosquito Control office, said with the recent rains and planes unable to fly, they're having to work harder to spray for mosquitoes. He said what takes five minutes in a plane can take five hours on the ground.

But they continue to spray and monitor.

"We're already doing what we should be doing," he said.

Hillsborough County, with animal cases found to the east and north of it, continues to monitor for the virus and tell people to take precautions, said Jylmarie Kintz, epidemiologist at the county's Health Department.

"(The precautions are) really for the entire state, though you have the 48 counties under alerts," she said. "We're recommending those for the people here in Hillsborough County."

In rare cases, West Nile virus causes encephalitis, a brain infection that can be fatal or cause brain damage.

The very old and very young are the most at risk, as are people with immune systems weakened by other sicknesses.

Health officials aren't sure when the alert will end. It depends on the weather, because mosquitoes can continue to be active in parts of Florida through December if the weather stays warm and wet.

"As soon as the temperatures cool down and the rains stop, mosquito season will end," Abarca said.

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