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Kendall County at work monitoring mosquitoes, ticks to prevent disease spread · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Kendall County at work monitoring mosquitoes ticks to prevent disease spread.
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  Speaker 1: Written by Khalil Kombui for Shaw Local News Network. This
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  Speaker 1: article is being read by an automated voice brought to
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  Speaker 1: you by Everlet. Every summer, Kendall County health officials monitor
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  Speaker 1: mosquitoes and ticks to track diseases before they become a
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  Speaker 1: serious public health problem. The Kendall County Health Department conducts
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  Speaker 1: two separate surveillance programs for ticks and mosquitoes, both with
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  Speaker 1: the goal of collecting data, identifying and monitoring the risk
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  Speaker 1: of diseases, and educating the public on how to protect themselves.
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  Speaker 1: While the counties mosquito surveillance programs focus on the West
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  Speaker 1: Nile virus, Aaron Ribsky, Environmental Health Services director for the
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  Speaker 1: Kendall County Health Department, said testing has found a large
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  Speaker 1: number of deer ticks collected in the area carry lime disease.
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  Speaker 1: I'll say that most people don't know that the ticks
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  Speaker 1: in this area carry lime disease, and we found approximately
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  Speaker 1: forty to fifty percent of dear ticks in this area
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  Speaker 1: based on the testing, are positive for lime, she said.
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  Speaker 1: While West Nile virus remains a public health concern. Ribsky said,
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  Speaker 1: lime disease may be a greater health risk. So either way,
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  Speaker 1: if I had to, if I guess, I would say
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  Speaker 1: ticks are less well known in terms of carrying lime disease,
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  Speaker 1: and I think lime disease is probably more of a
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  Speaker 1: concern than West Nile, she said. For mosquitos, Kendall County's
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  Speaker 1: primary area of concern is the West Nile virus. The
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  Speaker 1: monitoring program began in the early two thousands with a
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  Speaker 1: goal to figure out how the West Nile virus magnifies
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  Speaker 1: within the mosquito population as it fluctuates due to weather,
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  Speaker 1: changing of the seasons and other factors. The heavy rains
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  Speaker 1: of the past few weeks provides the right conditions for
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  Speaker 1: the mosquito population to breed quickly and grow. To collect
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  Speaker 1: mosquito's health officials place gravid traps throughout the county. The
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  Speaker 1: traps use a fermented mix of grass, water, and rabbit
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  Speaker 1: pellets to lure female mosquitos looking for a place to
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  Speaker 1: lay their eggs. Once they are trapped, the mosquitoes are
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  Speaker 1: collected and tested for West Nile virus. During the summer,
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  Speaker 1: the traps are checked weekly from the middle of May
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  Speaker 1: up until the first hard frost, typically in October. The
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  Speaker 1: tick Surveillance program, which began in twenty sixteen, runs differently.
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  Speaker 1: The program uses a technique called tick drag. During a
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  Speaker 1: tick drag, health officials drag a wooden dowl with a
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  Speaker 1: white cloth attached through grassy and wooded areas. The ticks
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  Speaker 1: then mistake the fabric for an animal and attach themselves
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  Speaker 1: to it, where they are collected and sent away to
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  Speaker 1: be tested. Beyond surveillance, both programs focus on public education.
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  Speaker 1: The Kendall County Health Department shares information with residents, schools,
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  Speaker 1: and local governments about tick and mosquito born illnesses. Protecting
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  Speaker 1: yourself from mosquite and tick borne illnesses, Ribski recommends reducing
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  Speaker 1: the chances of mosquito breeding by eliminating undisturbed water around
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  Speaker 1: their home, such as clearing gutters and emptying still water containers.
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  Speaker 1: Ribski also recommends using deep an insect repellent, wearing protective
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  Speaker 1: clothing outdoors, and performing tick checks after spending time in
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  Speaker 1: grassy wooded areas. Preventing mosquito spread. The Will County Health
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  Speaker 1: Department suggests taking these measures to curb the mosquito population.
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  Speaker 1: Check your property and remove or empty water in old tires,
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  Speaker 1: tin cans, buckets, drums, bottles, or other places where mosquitoes
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  Speaker 1: might breed. Be sure to check clogged gutters and flat
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  Speaker 1: roofs that may have poor drainage. Empty plastic waiting pools
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  Speaker 1: at least once a week in store indoors when not
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  Speaker 1: in use. Unused swimming pools should be covered or drained
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  Speaker 1: during the mosquito season. Change the water in bird baths
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  Speaker 1: and plant pots or drip trays at least once each week.