One Eastern Iowa County is Seeing a Rise in West Nile Virus

The unofficial start to fall for a lot of midwest citizens is the day after labor day. Normally once temperatures start to drop into the lower 50s and 40s, so does the number of bugs and mosquitos you see outside. Even with fall quickly approaching we should all remember mosquitos are extremely active in the early fall months. We may be ready for bonfires, flannels, hoodies, Halloween, and football but with temperatures still being close to the 80s it's not time to ditch the bug spray just yet.

For one Eastern Iowa county, you may want to make sure to spray yourself down every time before leaving the house.

Black Hawk county is seeing an increase in the number of mosquitos carrying the West Nile virus, according to KCRG. They also report that now is the peak season for West Nile virus transmission and want to remind you to be diligent in protecting yourself with mosquito repellent.

Now, you can't always guarantee you won't come into contact with mosquitos. Where I grew up, we referred to mosquitos as the state bird. There are things you can do to help prevent mosquitos from hanging out around your house.

KCRG gave us these tips to prevent mosquitos from congregating at your home;

• Remove or turn over containers, buckets, wheelbarrows, etc. that may accumulate water.
• Dispose of any used tires to prevent water accumulation.
• Change water in bird baths, wading pools etc. at least once a week.
• Clean rain gutters and downspouts to prevent standing water.
• Cover rain barrels and unchlorinated pools to prevent mosquito access.

The CDC reports about 1 in 5 people who are infected with West Nile will get a fever and 1 out of 150 people infected will develop something more series, and possibly fatal.

For any more information, you can visit the BHC Public Health website.