Deadly Mosquito Virus Detected in 5 Tampa Area Counties
A heads up that some mosquito repellent might be a good thing to add to your shopping list as you get ready for outdoor fun Memorial Day Weekend.
The Pasco Department of Health has put out a warning about Eastern Equine Encephalitis. A bite from a mosquito that’s infected with it is super rare but can be deadly. Some chickens in the area tested positive for the virus this week.
Pasco County Mosquito Control District Executive Director Adriane Rogers told Fox 13: “We have nine locations throughout the county where we have sentinel chicken flocks established, and we are taking blood samples on a weekly basis and sending those off to the Department of Health laboratory.”
Swampy areas are particularly risky. They say the virus can go back and forth between birds and mosquitoes there. And since we haven’t had much rain, they have been in higher contact. Fox 13 reports the virus has been detected in 3 horses and 63 chickens in Pasco, Polk, Citrus, Manatee and Sarasota counties. [Source: Fox 13]
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