A grant totaling $39,934 to monitor the spread of West Nile virus will soon be awarded to Blair County Emergency Management as part of Pennsylvania\u2019s Mosquito Surveillance Program, according to a press release from State Representative Jerry Stern (R-Blair).
\nIn the release issued earlier this week, Stern said, \u201cThis funding will be used for a mosquito monitoring and virus surveillance program and to inform residents about any potential threats from the virus.
\n\u201cWest Nile virus has become a serious concern over the past several years and funding like this will help provide better health protection for area residents.\u201d
\nWest Nile virus appeared in Pennsylvania for the first time in 2000 in birds, mosquitoes and a horse. The Commonwealth has been actively monitoring for the virus since 1999.
\nThe West Nile virus is primarily carried by the Northern House mosquito. Transmission by an infected mosquito to a human may result in West Nile encephalitis, which causes an inflammation of the brain. Those most at risk of developing severe illness from the virus include people over 50 years of age and those with compromised immune systems.
\n\u201cMany senior citizens have contacted me expressing their concern about possibly being infected with West Nile virus,\u201d said Stern. \u201cI\u2019m sure they will be relieved to know the county and state are taking proactive measures to monitor this potential threat.\u201d
\nBecause the virus is spread by infected mosquitoes, Stern noted that the best defense is not giving them a place to breed. Here are some things residents can do around their homes to prevent breeding areas:
\n\u2022 dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots or similar water-holding containers that have collected on your property.
\n\u2022 pay special attention to discarded tires. Stagnant water in tires are where most mosquitoes breed.
\n\u2022 drill holes in the bottom of recycling containers left outdoors.
\n\u2022 have clogged roof gutters cleaned every year, particularly if the leaves from surrounding trees have a tendency to plug up the drains. Roof gutters can produce millions of mosquitoes each season.
\n\u2022 turn over plastic wading pools when not in use. Stagnant water in a wading pool becomes a place for mosquitoes to breed.
\n\u2022 turn over wheelbarrows, and don\u2019t let water stagnate in birdbaths. Both provide breeding habitats for domestic mosquitoes.
\n\u2022 aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish. Water gardens can become major mosquito producers if they are allowed to stagnate.
\n\u2022 clean and chlorinate swimming pools not in use. A swimming pool left untended by a family on vacation for a month can produce enough mosquitoes to result in neighborhood-wide complaints. Mosquitoes may even breed in the water that collects on pool covers
\nand use landscaping to eliminate standing water that collects on your property. Mosquitoes may breed in any puddle that lasts for more than four days.
\nFor more information on the West Nile virus, visit www.WestNile.state.pa.us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A grant totaling $39,934 to monitor the spread of West Nile virus will soon be awarded to Blair County Emergency Management as part of Pennsylvania\u2019s Mosquito Surveillance Program, according to a press release from State Representative Jerry Stern (R-Blair). In the release issued earlier this week, Stern said, \u201cThis funding will be used for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43206\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}