West Nile Virus & the High Country
July 9th, 2004 - A question on many people's minds these days is, "What is the
risk to me if I'm going to be up at higher altitudes?" With the
usual summer activities of hiking, biking, and camping in Colorado's
high country, this is a very relevant question.
There is some speculation that the mosquitoes primarily responsible
for WNV transmission may not be present in large numbers at altitudes
above 8,000 feet. However, there is still more to be learned about the
mosquito populations at higher altitudes. Boulder County Public Health
is working with Colorado Mosquito Control to learn more about this,
and we are currently trapping and testing mosquitoes at higher
elevations in Boulder County, including: Lyons,
Jamestown, Ward,
and Nederland.
To date, Culex
mosquitoes, one of the carriers of West Nile Virus, has only been
found in Lyons. Jamestown, Ward and Nederland show low levels of
mosquitoes and none of the Culex
species.
We will continue to trap at these locations and hope
information from these traps will help us better answer this question
in the future. In the meantime, our best recommendation is to protect
yourself at all altitudes by following the 4Ds.
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