From Various Sources

Confirmation of the third and fourth cases of West Nile Virus in Hopkins County were made on Thursday morning, according to staff at Hopkins County Memorial Hospital. To date, the four cases, according to Infection Control Officer, Roberta Vandenburg, at Memorial Hosptial, are three adults and one child. One of the victims lives in Hunt County, but had been diagnosed here in Hopkins County, one lives in Emory and has been diagnosed in Hopkins Counyt,and the other two are Hopkins County residents, one with a city of Sulphur Springs address and the other with a rural Hopkins County address.

Local officials, including Hopkins County Judge Chris Brown, are encouraging residents to follow the recommened precautions listed below, to minimize your exposure to the West Nile Virus, issued by the Texas Department of Health.

Local disaster declarations have been issued due to the outbreak of the West Nile Virus in the following cities: Addison, Balch Springs, Carrollton, Coppell, Dallas, DeSoto, Denton, Ferris, Glen Heights, Grand Prairie, Hutchins, Irving, Lancaster, Mesquite, Richardson, Rowlett, Sachse, Seagoville, University Park and Wilmer.

The latest county by county list of cases are as follows: (before this morning's updates).

WNND cases reported in 2012 for the following counties: Andrews (8), Angelina (7),
Bastrop (1), Bell (3), Bexar (4), Bowie (4), Brazos (1), Camp (1), Carson (1), Cherokee
(2), Collin (13), Concho (1), Cooke (2), Dallas (140), Denton (35), Ector (3), Ellis (3), El
Paso (5), Fannin (1), Fort Bend (2), Grayson (1), Gregg (10), Grimes (2), Harris (9),
Harrison (2), Hays (4), Hood (2), Hopkins (2), Hunt (7), Johnson (5), Kaufman (7),
Lamar (1), Lavaca (1), Liberty (1), Limestone (1), Lubbock (1), McLennan (14),
Montgomery (3), Navarro (3), Nueces (1), Panola (2), Parker (2), Randall (3),
Robertson (1), Rusk (4), Smith (7), Tarrant (84), Tom Green (1), Travis (17), Trinity (1),
Upshur (1), Val Verde (1), Van Zandt (2), Washington (1), Wharton (2), Williamson (6),
Wise (1) and Zavala (1).

Twelve NorthTexas Region deaths have been attributed to the West Nile Virus in Dallas County, with two in Denton County, and four in Tarrant County. One death attributed to the virus has been reported in each of the following counties, Collin, Ellis, Hood, Gregg, and Panola.

What can you do? Here are some tips:

1. The most important thing - get rid of all standing water around your house. Empty Bird baths, old tires, ceramic pots or trays, etc. If you have a garden pond, use fish that feed on mosquito larvae, and put “mosquito torpedoes” or “mosquito dunks” in tanks that you can (these contain a bacteria that discourages mosquito larval development and usually will not harm animals, so this is the best option for farm/ranch livestock troughs). Leave No puddles - an inch of water can breed and attract mosquitoes. Install landscaping around your home in the fall to help keep standing water away next year. Some people find that using a garlic spray around the home called Mosquito Guard helps repel them for up to a month.
2. For outside waterers or water troughs, emptying, scrubbing, and refilling every 2 days will give effective control by eliminating any larvae before they hatch into mosquitoes, as well as using the BTI mosquito “dunks” or “ torpedoes”.
3. Avoid going out at dawn or dusk when mosquito activity is at its highest.

4. If you must be outside, wear long sleeved shirts tucked in and long pants and wear strong mosquito repellent of your choice – look for “sportsman's” or similarly labeled mosquito repellent that contains at least 20% DEET (but be careful with children under 2). There are other more natural products, but these need reapplication often. Keep them readily available at all of your doors and bathrooms, so it is easy to use and find.
5. Keep ceiling fans going indoors and especially on decks and porches houses - mosquitoes hate wind.
6. Do not leave lights on around your doors - they are attracted to them. Blue-tinted “zapper” lights are not very effective – mosquitoes are most attracted to standard incandescent lights.
7. Avoid wearing Blue colors or floral prints. Do not start a slapping frenzy if they bite – other mosquitoes in the area will converge on you.

8. For immune health, take 4-5 grams of Vitamin C daily, and use other supplements (Elderberry, Zinc, Vit. D/E/K, etc.) and a healthy diet to boost your immune system. Eat protein at each meal to help keep your blood sugar level. Avoid sugary food and drinks - desserts, junk food, candy bars, sodas, and other food/drinks that raise blood sugar and then lower it.

9. There is some evidence that taking oral Garlic supplements will make you less desirable to mosquitoes, and that Vit. B1 daily will augment this effect.

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