Spraying For Mosquitos In Oak Forest Early Tuesday: City

OAK FOREST, IL — Spraying for mosquitos will take place in a portion of Oak Forest early Tuesday, officials said Monday.

Due to fluctuating temperatures, the West Nile virus is still active, and the South Cook County Mosquito Abatement District will conduct adult mosquito control operations early Tuesday. Spraying will take place in a six-block radius of 157th Street and Lorel Avenue, beginning at 4:30 a.m. and ending before sunrise.

Spraying will not include forest preserve property, the City said.

The Illinois Department of Public Health says it supports mosquito control efforts throughout Illinois by providing $2.8 million in funding to the 97 local health departments for vector surveillance and control activities. The funding covers and applying larvicide, working with local municipal governments and local news media regarding WNV prevention and education, and investigating mosquito production sites and nuisance mosquito complaints. The local health departments collect mosquitoes for WNV virus testing and also collect sick or dead birds for West Nile virus testing.

According to IDPH, WNV is transmitted through the bite of a Culex mosquito, or a typical mosquito, which has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird.

Common WNV symptoms include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches, which may last from a few days to a few weeks. Officials said four out of five people infected with West Nile virus will not show any symptoms.

Severe illness can occur, including brain infections such as meningitis or encephalitis and paralysis or even death, in rare cases. People older than 50 and immunocompromised individuals are at higher risk for severe illness from WNV.

With no specific treatment for WNV or a vaccine, IDPH said it is "critically important" for people to minimize their risk of acquiring.

Through its "Fight the Bite" program, the IDPH recommends the following precautions:

• REDUCE — make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut. Eliminate, or refresh each week, all sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires, and any other containers.
• REPEL — when outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a light-colored, long-sleeved shirt, and apply an EPA-registered insect repellent that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR 3535 according to label instructions. The CDC does not recommend use of products containing oil of lemon eucalyptus or para-menthane-diol on children under 3 years old. Consult a physician before using repellents on children under 3.
• REPORT — report locations where you see water sitting stagnant for more than a week such as roadside ditches, flooded yards, and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes. The local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito larvae.