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Morgan City mosquito positive for West Nile

By ZACHARY FITZGERALD zfitzgerald@daily-review.com

Morgan City had a mosquito test positive for the West Nile virus for the first time this year on Friday, according to city officials.
The trap of the positive test was located in the area of Barrow and Fourth streets, Morgan City Public Works Superintendent Jean Paul Bourg said.
When a mosquito in one of the city’s traps tests positive for West Nile, the city will spray three consecutive days in the same zone, which is what city workers did Friday through Sunday, Bourg said.
City workers do that to try to catch the mosquitoes at all different points in their life cycle, he said. They also treated the area with residual pesticide, and informed the neighbors of the positive test, Bourg said.
Bourg advised people in the area to try to be inside at dusk and dawn, wear mosquito spray when outside, and make sure no one has any containers holding water that could breed mosquitos, Bourg said.
“We checked around the backyards and all the houses in that area,” Bourg said. “One house did have some areas that were breeding mosquitoes in their backyard and we made sure we dumped those out. And we treated them.”
Workers try to do whatever possible to kill off mosquitos that could possibly have West Nile, he said. “This is the peak time of year where you’re going to see West Nile mosquitoes,” Bourg said. That peak period runs from the end of June into September and October due to the heat, he said. The positive test is the first one Morgan City has had though the city has sent thousands of mosquitoes to be tested, he said.
“We’re glad we caught it, and now we’re trying to take all the precautions necessary to hopefully keep it from biting a human,” Bourg said.
The City of Patterson had a mosquito test positive for West Nile about two weeks, Patterson Mayor Rodney Grogan said. The city increased spraying in the area of the positive test and informed residents of precautions they can take, he said. The results of West Nile testing take about a month to come back, Grogan said.
The positive test two weeks ago is the only one Patterson has had this year, he said.
According to an Associated Press article, Louisiana has confirmed two new West Nile virus deaths, bringing this year’s total to four.
On Friday, the Department of Health and Hospitals also noted 19 new infections in its weekly Arbovirus Surveillance Report, of which six were the more serious neuroinvasive disease, bringing this year’s total to 80 reported infections, the article stated.
Three neuroinvasive cases were reported in Caddo Parish and one each in Bossier, East Baton Rouge and St. Tammany parishes, the article said. Ten new cases of the milder West Nile fever were reported: two each in Caddo, East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes and one each in Ascension, Bossier, Ouachita and St. Tammany parishes, according to the Associated Press.
There were also three new asymptomatic cases: one each in Caddo, Livingston and Rapides parishes, the report said. Most people who contract West Nile fall into the asymptomatic category, meaning they show no symptoms, the article stated. These cases are typically detected through blood donations or through other routine medical tests, the report stated.

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