The Berrien County Health Department is advising everyone to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites this summer. The county hasn’t yet had any cases of mosquito-borne illness, but department spokesperson Gillian Conrad tells WSJM News mosquito activity could soon increase.
“With all the rain we’ve been having it’s important that people are walking around their homes and getting rid of any pools of standing water that could be serving as mosquito breeding sites,” Conrad said.
Conrad says it takes as little as a bottle cap full of water to serve as a mosquito breeding site. Mosquitoes carry illnesses like West Nile virus or Eastern Equine Encephalitis. Berrien County had multiple cases of EEE a couple of years ago. The health department keeps track of mosquito activity.
“We have teams of sanitarians who are setting traps for those mosquitoes and ticks so we can collect different specimens from around the county and see what kind of species we have to know what types of viruses could potentially be present.”
Conrad says to avoid mosquito bites, wear an insect repellent that contains DEET and wear long sleeves and pants when outdoors. Those same steps can also protect you against ticks.
