Mosquito-borne encephalitis in the U. S. is prevalent in several forms and is geographically wide-spread. The Western Equine and St. Louis viral strains were the most common before the invasion of West Nile Virus. West Nile Virus first showed up in Idaho in 2004 and in 2006 Idaho led the nation in reports of human illness associated with WNV with 996 cases being reported to the state health department. Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain and central nervous system, and is characterized by a high to moderate mortality rate, with some survivors left with permanent physical and mental disabilities. Contact the Health department or you doctor for more information.
TFCPAD traps mosquitoes to test for virus through the county during the summer. Trapped mosquitoes are separated by species using a microscope. Some species are more prone to carry diseases than others and we try to focus our work more on them. Trapping of mosquitoes also allows us to monitor the effectiveness of our treatments and find additional areas in need of treatment.
2013
April 22, 2012 Weekly traping and testing of Mosquitoes is underway!
May 30, Trap counts low, No WNV detected. with recent rain dont forget to drain containers!
2012
September 13, 2012
Trap counts for all species of mosquitoes were low. No Culex Tarsalis (our primary WNV carrier) were found in traps. All tests for WNV were negative.
September 6, 2012
Trap counts remain low, all tests for WNV were negative this week.
Agust 29, 2012
All traps this week have had low mosquito counts and tested negative for WNV! The cooler nights are slowing down the rate at which mosquitoes complete there life cycle. We are past the peak of summer mosquitoes numbers.
August 24, 2012
10 traps were set August 20. One was a follow up to last week’s Buhl locations positive WNV finding. It again contained a positive WNV mosquito. The good news is that total mosquitoes trapped at this location had declined by over 75 percent in the last 5 days. This area will continue to be monitored. In addition a second positive mosquito pool was found west of Hansen near the South Hills. Once again this is a reminder that WNV is endemic to Idaho finding it is not a surprise. These finding help focus the work of the abatement district. If you live in are where it hasn’t been found yet, you still should take basic precautions to avoid mosquitoes and avoid creating mosquito habitat.
August 17, 2012During routine mosquito surveillance. A trap set Wednesday August 15 in a rural area West of Buhl contained Culex mosquitoes that tested positive for WNV. This was one of 18 traps set out this week. All other traps tested negative.. Expanded surveillance and treatment of this area has been conducted. This finding is a reminder for people to take the proper precautions.
Agust 8, 2012 No WNV found to date, Over 150 locations trapped with more than 5,000 mosquitoes put under the microscope to date. Please rember that WNV is endemic to Idaho and even though we havent found it yet residents still should take steps to elimate standing water!
7/11/2012 Weekly mosquito trapping and survilance is underway, no WNV has been found to date.
Trapping and testiong started in April, No WNV found as of June 6th Please report areas where you find mosquitoes!
2011
10-28 Last trap date, No WNV found during season.
8-18-2011 No WNV found in over 100 trap samples to date. High levels of nuicance mosquitoes found in some parts of the county, still need to treat drain or dump out standing water!
6-24-2011 Weekly mosquito trapping and survilance is underway, no WNV has been found to date.
5-15-2011 Start of mossquito trapping and diease survilance as permited by the weather.
2010
Aug 24, 2010 Over 200 trap samples have been tested for WNV, none has been found to date.Trapping and testing will continue.
4-26-2010 First traps set for mosquito survelance, trapping will continue every week during the summer.
2009
Weekly trapping of mosquitoes in Twin Falls County started in May, Mosquitoes identified as the species Culex are tested for West Nile virus.
8-25-09 First positive mosquito sample for West Nile Virus in Twin Falls County.Two mosquito traps near Buhl contained mosquitoes that tested positive for West Nile Virus. The TFCPAD is expanding surveillance and treatment in that area and encourages everyone to help eliminate mosquito habitat by draining standing water, and avoiding their bites through the use of repellents.
9-1-09 Additional Positive Mosquito sample for West Nile Virus. One trap located 1 mile north of Filer tested positive. The trap only contained two mosquitoes! All additional samples from the area of earlier positives have been negative and subsequent traps set in the same location near filer failed to catch any mosquitoes. TFCPAD is continuing to treat for mosquitoes and encourages everyone to take the proper precautions!
