Press Release
JUNE 25th, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
|
NEWS
MEDIA ONLY:
TIM O’CONNOR
561-671-4013 or
press50@doh.state.fl.us |
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL—The
Palm Beach County Health
Department has sentinel
chicken sites in place
throughout the county and
conducts weekly testing for
the presence of mosquito
borne diseases that can
infect people and animals
throughout the mosquito
season.
Mosquito populations thrive
in South Florida and their
eggs hatch out in standing
water. The bite of a
mosquito can infect a person
with West Nile Virus, St.
Louis Encephalitis, and even
Malaria as was experienced
in 2003.
The Sentinel Chickens do not
contract these diseases but
can carry the virus in their
blood following a mosquito
bite. The testing gives all
an early warning should
mosquitoes be carrying the
diseases.
Prevention is the key to
good health, said Health
Department Director Alina
Alonso, M.D. Simple measures
like avoiding mosquito bites
and early detection through
the sentinel chicken program
are excellent preventive
measures all of us can take
to prevent mosquito borne
diseases.
The Florida Department of
Health has been seeing an
increase in eastern equine
encephalitis virus activity
in a couple of our
neighboring counties. While
our Palm Beach County
sentinel chickens are
negative, two EEEV-confirmed
positive horses were
reported in Osceola and
Okeechobee counties.
Seventeen sentinel chickens
from Brevard, Citrus,
Flagler, Leon, Martin,
Orange, Putnam, Sarasota,
St. Johns, and Volusia
counties tested positive for
antibodies to EEEV. The
Department of Agriculture is
advising horse owners to
have their vaccinations up
to date. There is no West
Nile Virus or EEE vaccine
available for humans.
Preventive measures people
can take to reduce the risk
of mosquito bites are:
-
From dusk to dawn use an
insect repellant when
outdoors
-
Wear light comfortable
clothes with long
sleeves, long pants and
socks at night
-
Drain standing water
from around the house
including pots, boat
covers, containers,
gutters.
-
Repair any screens that
may have holes.
Information can be obtained
on numerous health issues at
the Health Department
website,
www.pbchd.com.
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