The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday May 7, 2003 C3 P ro fc rf y rou r fk m -ily Special 3 Page Feature Halton Prepares to Fight the Bite There are three key messages that Haltons Medical Officer o f Health would like to emphasize to Halton Residents. · Protect yourself w h en o u td o o rs by w earing p roper cloth ing a n d u sin g insect repellents c o n tain in g D E ET . · Remove any s ta n d in g water from aro u n d your h o m e to prevent m o squitoes from breeding. · R eport all dead bird sightings to the H ealth D e p a rtm e n t. Clean up leaf litter. Do not rake leaves and other yard waste into gutters or storm drain* Blocking gutter* prevent* water from flowing, creating pond* that give mosquitoes a place to breed Unscreened spaces, attic vents and broken screens allow mosquitoes to enter your home. Such itama as toy*, bra* and gardening tods, when filled with watar. can bread mosquitoes Uncovered refuse container* and Junk pile* collect watar in which mosquitoes can breed Mosquitoes can breed in any stagnant water Empty pool covers weekly 7 Ensure eave trough* ara clean and draining proparly ·o watar doesn't pool Report Dead Birds surveillance is used to confirm the presence of West Nile Virus Rem ove Standing W ater from Around your Home M o sq u ito es lay their eggs in sta n d in g water. Rem ove o r control potential i i· i i j · I f k · kb reed in g sites a ro u n d y o u r h o m e to reduce yo u r risk or being bitten. o / ij (W N V ) m the Region. In 2 0 0 2 , 5 0 0 0 dead birds were reported to the ,ln r l- l H e a lth D e p a r tm e n t, o r w h ic h o v e r 2 7 0 0 w e re c ro w s. / o If you find a dead bird, do not touch it until after you have contacted the H ealth D epartm ent. T h e H ealth D epartm ent will not be picking up all dead birds, but staff will tell the caller how to dispose o f the bird. A small num ber o f dead crows will be sent for testing for W est N ile Virus since crow s are the species m ost affected by W est N ile V irus. H ealth D epartm ent staff will assess the dead bird and determ ine w hether it should be sent for testing. W hen you call to report a dead bird, please provide as m uch o f the follow ing inform ation as possible: · Type o f bird (for example: Crow) · Address o f closest house · H ow long the bird had been there (for exam ple:one day, one week) · condition o f the bird (for exam ple hit by car) T h e sp rin g is th e best tim e to clean th e yard an d remove potential b re e d ing sites. M o n ito r a n d m a in ta in y o u r yard th ro u g h o u t the w arm w eather to e n su re th a t th e area rem ain s free from stan d in g water. To rem ove o r co n tro l m o sq u ito b reedin g sites: · E n su re pool circu latio n systems are operational an d the w ater is p rop erly ch lo rin a te d · Rem ove w ater from o n to p of pool covers; d u m p and replace the w ater in bird b aths every tw o to three days · D ispose o f old tires a n d u n u s e d con tain ers w hich can collect water · C lear eaves an d ensure they are o p e ra tin g properly · Fill in depressions in the g r o u n d w here w ater can pool (Above information courtesy o f Halton Region Health Department) y fr ILF yiRUS - WHAT Y9U 0 0 TfREDUCE THE R I S K # prev en tiv e m easures bit o f inform ation^ a . I j * f "M .W HAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS tyrtsl infected vs ith iW West est Nij N ib-have *o sym ptom s or mild fluii-like sfm piom s % ^ TWO SAMPLE STEPS TO OFF!' IS EFFECTIVE PROTECTIO^ * A V O ID IN G IN FEC TIO N YOU CAN TRUST. f * * O FF!" has protected C anadian families for over 40 years. Avhich in clu d e feyer. body ach es and * O F F !' provides a variety o f DEET-based 0 ' rashes. Itfjware cases (a p p ro x von ca n eVijoy su m m e r w ith repellents ranging from 5%-30% PFET* im ately 1% of all infections), W est Nile ` Cut Ivatk dense vegetation where mosquitoes y o u r F a m ily .^ J-t v ^ so you can choose the right one to protect like to rest. can cau se in fla m m a tio n of th e b rain or you and your family against West Nile virus. fe MAKE Y O U R S E L F LESS APPEALING TRAHSMITTED spinal cord. * For th o se w h o prefer a N O N -D EET " 'TO MOSQUITOES alternative, there's new O FF' Botanicals. M osquitoes can tran sm it the W est Nik*/AN INF ECTED H UM AN MAY Hi , A unique NON-DEET form ula based virus alter bccoming/fmected by Jekding on Stay indoors at dawn and dusk, w hen S AKE 3 T O 15 D AY S T O ' on an ingredient found in the Lemon , . , .V, mosquitoes are at their worst. the blood of hirds thaucarry the vrrus. ENWrt ;XHi»5lT l T SIGNS O F I NFECTI ON Eucalyptus plant. 1 Do not wear strong fragrances. Birds carry the t n l e c ^ u s form o f W est If you are w orried about your pets, * Wear light coloured clothing since the use o f reg istered area rep ellen ts, Nile for fine to four days after i n l e c i - T f j R W r i s k o f b e m u tfn g seriously flPis low. mosquitoes are attracted to darker colours. such as OFT! Yard and Dock, may assist A lter aboim tw o w eeks of incubation.T nc- h o w ev er, th e " o lin g and th e eld erly or * W ear long sleeves and pants to reduce the in c o n tro llin g m o sq u ito es aro u n d them amount of exposed skin. virus resid e? in the m o sq u ito 's salivary \ p eo p le * 4 th w eak en ed i mmu n e jiy^tem s in outd o o r settings. * Apply a federally registered repellent to glands and is injected into any a n i l w ^ r o n v ^ ^ r e morerisusceptiblc to the v iru sn to rsc s, exposed skin 1*^heh ii sucks blood. /W' in It-c te d w im .ih / .d e e r and even house pels are susceptible. O MAKE YOUR YARD LESS APPEALING TO MOSQUITOES * Remove all sourccs of standing water from your yard where mosquitoes lay their eggs. J may take 3 to 15 days to · But like h u m a n s, they rarely develop the sigr\sl«kjnfectio[i following the v iru s's in fe c tio u s form a i r f are th u s bite ofsm infectci infected me C' "d ead -en d " hosts. i il r , f Hj - , I $ to; $ tot OFF!* EFFECTIVE PROTECTION YOU CAN TRUST For m ore in f o r m a t io n , visit w w w .b u g fre e liv in g .c o m * p lu s re la te d to lu a m id e s A Partnership That Works! W est Nile V iru s In fo rm a tio n S essio n s OPEN HOUSES The Halton Region Health D epartm ent will be hosting a series of O pen Houses throughout the Region w here Halton residents can speak to Public Health officials, municipal and industry partners about the 2 0 0 3 W est Nile Virus R esponse Plan. T h e O pen Houses are designed as an opportunityJfor the public to learn about W est Nile Virus and local initiatives. T h e fo llo w in g O p en H o u se is p la n n ed fo r O a kv ille ; Tuesday, M ay 27" H alton R egional C entre A u d ito riu m 1151 B ronte Road, O akville 3 pm - 8 pm F o r m o re In fo rm a tio n a b o u t W e s t N il# V iru s please call the Halton Region Hearth Department West Nile Virus info line art, 905-825-6187. Toll free: 1-866-4HALTON (1-866-442-5866). TTY: 905-827-9833. Visit our Web site: www.region.hatton.on.ca/heaHh.