Here’s a thought state epidemiologist Lon Kightlinger hopes people keep in mind these last days of summer: West Nile virus peaked in early August, but it’s far from over.
This year has brought an unexplained resurgence of the disease, which seemed to be in decline during recent summers.
There have been two deaths and 119 human cases in 2012 so far in South Dakota, the most since 2007, when there were 185 cases at this point.
A year ago there were only two cases total.
“This year has been perplexing for most people because the drought has provided little standing water for mosquito breeding, so we are seeing fewer mosquitoes. We are, however, seeing a higher proportion of WNV-infected mosquitoes,” Kightlinger said Wednesday.
“The fewer mosquitoes have allowed people to let their guard down and become lax in using repellants or wearing long pants in the evening.”
Septembers have been the third-busiest month for human cases of the mosquito-borne disease in South Dakota, based on a state Health Department analysis of WNV statistics for 2002 through 2011.
Those numbers show zero human cases during the months of November through April. May had a total of four during those years, while there were 24 during the Junes and 12 during the Octobers.
The highest activity has been clustered during the warmest three months: July: 315; August: 1,117; and September: 287.
This summer followed that pattern. The peak activity came during the week ending Aug. 4. Cases have steadily declined since then, but the danger remains present.
Kightlinger’s advice for the next few Friday nights as people gather to watch their high school teams: Communities should spray their football fields for mosquitoes, and people should use repellants and wear long pants.
That goes for other evening sports and activities, too.