West Nile warning issued

LSU’s Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab has confirmed a West Nile positive sentinel chicken in the area of Cypremort Point and within the city limits of Patterson.
“We are now following the CDC Expanded Transmission Protocol measures for West Nile virus in these areas,” Cajun Mosquito Control’s Jessie Boudreaux said.
During the evening hours ULV truck-mounted sprayers will be assigned to spray Cypremort Point and the City of Patterson in an effort to reduce/maintain the vector population below critical levels as noted in the CDC expanded protocol measures. Spraying will be conducted on three consecutive evenings, weather permitting.
“We encourage the wearing of insect repellant, preferably one containing DEET,” Boudreaux said. “Always read repellant labels carefully, wear light colored clothing, repair broken screens on windows and doors, and avoid using perfumes or colognes.”
Residents should remove any standing water around their homes or businesses. Clogged rain gutters can produce thousands of mosquitoes per week and something as small as a bottle cap can produce a mosquito breeding site.
Avoiding mosquitoes and their peak activity times of dusk and dawn is recommended, but if one must be outside, wear a repellant.
West Nile virus has been detected and confirmed within St. Mary, Iberia and St. Martin Parishes in 2016. Residents in these areas are being informed that there is a heightened potential for encephalitis infection within these parishes and these two locations. Personal protection and yard sanitation is always recommended. The efficacy of these spraying operations will be determined through the use of gravid traps that are scheduled for operation immediately following the completion of the mosquito control activities. The number of mosquitoes collected will serve to quantify the adult population and provide specimens to be submitted for testing at Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab.