3 weeks running, Terrebonne tests positive for West Nile Virus

For the third time in the last three weeks, mosquitoes in Terrebonne Parish have tested positive for the West Nile virus.

The latest positive tests were from samples in the Crozies zone in Dularge, New Orleans Boulevard in Houma and again in Oaklawn Subdivision, which first tested positive on June 8.

“We were expecting this,” Terrebonne Parish Director of Public Works Greg Bush said. “We will likely get positives through August. The warm winter and the large amount of rain in the last few months have helped the growing mosquito population.”

The public works department is in charge of contracting mosquito spraying for the parish. On June 15, mosquitoes in the Legion Park zone in west Houma and Howard Avenue in east Houma tested positive. Oaklawn tested negative on June 15.

“This is the first time in 18 months that we have had mosquitoes test positive for the West Nile Virus,” Bush said. “We tested each week, year round, but we test for West Nile from May through October. This is the time of year that mosquitoes are most likely to test positive.”

When it comes to spraying and testing, the parish is divided into 36 zones, the sizes of which are based on population. Traps are located in each zone.

“We receive the results of testing each Friday between noon and 1 p.m., and if we have a positive report, we immediately go into expanded protocol,” Bush said. “We have done this for all three of the positive areas.”

With expanded protocol, spraying is increased in the positive zone and is focused on a five city-block area around the trap. The area is then expanded out on the second and third days.

The parish’s contractor, Jessie Boudreaux with Cajun Mosquito Control, distributes literature to residents, either by letter or a card on the home’s door, about the increased spraying. If the contractor needs access to private property, he must first obtain permission.

“There are two types of mosquitoes here [that] carry the West Nile virus, the Southern house mosquito and the Asian tiger mosquito,” Bush said.

The parish mosquito contractor tests for West Nile by using two traps.

The primary method is with a Gravid trap, which simply catches the bugs.

There’s also the Sentinel Flock, or chicken traps. Live chickens placed in cages in the zone for mosquitoes to feed upon. Poultry are immune to the disease, and blood samples are pulled from the animals for testing. Blood samples and mosquitoes are sent to the Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab for analysis.

“The traps are not just for testing, but also for gauging which areas need to be sprayed,” Bush said. “We increase the traps if the population increases in a zone, and we move the different traps around to different areas in the zone.”

Bush suggested that property owners help to combat the mosquito population by eliminate standing water in pails or buckets. “That’s where they start, in standing water,” he said.

The public works director said people spending time outside, especially in the early evening when the pests are most active, should wear long sleeves or cover as much skin as possible and use mosquito repellant.

Should the number of areas testing positive increase, the department will stock open ditches in residential area with minnows, which eat the mosquito eggs. Crews will fog culverts, which are dark and damp mosquito havens, conduct aerial sprays and double or triple sprayings to saturate the positive areas.

“We are very aggressive in combating the mosquito population when we have a positive result of West Nile,” Bush said.

Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet also pinpointed spring weather activity for heightened mosquito activity.

“We have had long dry spells in the last few years, but we have had plenty of rain recently,” Claudet said. “In south Louisiana, we have mosquitoes and we have to learn to live with them.”

Like Bush, Claudet suggested monitoring yards and adjacent areas for standing water. He also recommended wearing repellant.

“We have never had a human infection in this parish,” Claudet said. “The death of one loved one in this parish would be catastrophic. We will do our utmost to protect the citizens of Terrebonne Parish.”

Residents may keep up with mosquito testing results by visiting wwe.tpcg.org.