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economist sunsuntribune saturday april 5 2003 important information on the west nile virus hting the west nile virus ontarios 7 point action plan the west nile virus is a mosquitoborne virus that poses a health risk most infected people show mild symptoms but for a rare few it is serious possibly fatal it is not an airborne virus like the flu or a cold it is transmitted through the blood following the governments commitment in its 2003 budget to invest 100 million over five years to help stop the spread of west nile virus the jvunistry of health and longterm care is launching an aggressive sevenpoint action plan here are some of the details of this sevenpoint action plan 1 new lab capabilities faster results for faster treatments timely reporting of test results is essential for patient treatment and data collection therefore we are adding new staff and equipment to provide new provincial testing capabilities reducing the time it takes to get west nile virus test results 2 tracking the virus responding faster to protect public health v effective may 1 2003 west nile virus will be both a reportable disease and a communicable disease under the health protection and promotion act reporting to the local medical officers of health this means that there is a formal and required reporting mechanism for cases of the disease this information will give your local medical officer better information to take whatever actions are needed to protect public health additionally we will be tracking the nugratioh of the virus through dead crows and ravens mosquito breeding areas for larvae pools as well as horses 3 public education 1ssr informing you of the best ways to protect v yourself and your family educating the public on how to protect themselves from mosquito bites reducing mosquito breeding grounds around the home and informing healthcare providers of new issues regarding the transmission of west nile virus organ transplants or blood donations is essential for all of us we will ensure that you are kept informed of developments with west nile virus and advised on how to protect yourself and your family 4 mosquito control controlling bugs means less chance of being bitten funding is being made available to every pubhc health unit for larviciding pesticidal products called larvicides are placed in stagnant water where mosqmtoes prefer to lay their eggs and as a last resort adulticidihg or what is commonly referred to as pesticidal spray public health units will make the decision on what control activities will be carried out with the ministry costsharing the costs of these activities 5 early warning helping you be prepared a pilot project is being implemented for an early warning system to better track the outbreak of the virus and to be able to make more timely decisions on its management 6 community exposure study letting you know how fast and far west nile virus is traveling many people bitten by infected mosquitoes dont show any signs of serious illness so in halton region were gathering data on how many people were infected in 2002 this information will help us determine how widespread the disease has become 7 research keeping abreast of the latest information we will continue consultations with commumly groups and with national and international professional organizations to maintain an ongoing flow of information with physicians and patients with west nile virus symptoms this will also enable us to have the latest information on mosquito control techniques disease surveillance methods and results and successful public education approaches mosquito season will soon be here we will be keeping you informed on west nile vinis for more information visit pur web site or call our infoline 18772344343 wwwhealthgovorica tty 18603675559 making healthcare work for you ontario