West Nile Virus? Utilize home mosquito controls

While concerns about West Nile Virus abound, local health officials say that the focus should be on eliminating mosquito habitat. Mosquitoes are the prime carriers of the disease.

While there have been no confirmed cases of the virus in this health district, which includes Alleghany, Ashe and Watauga counties, District Health Department Director Danny Staley said that he expects it to be discovered in this area at some point in the future.

"We're at a point where we expect eventually to have a bird, but it just hasn't occurred yet," said Staley. The virus usually kills blue jays, crows, hawks and owls after they are bitten by mosquitoes.

Lower population density in this area may be one reason that virus-carrying birds have not been found thus far. "Part of that is, when your population is sparse, you don't always notice the dead animals that are an indicator of the disease," said Staley. "It's just the simple fact that the people aren't always where the birds are."

However, nearby Wilkes and Surry counties both have had confirmed cases of West Nile Virus (WNV) in dead birds. The Surry case was on N.C. 89, near Low Gap, which isn't far from the Alleghany County line.

The general population is not at risk from an infection of WNV, said Staley. Those in high risk groups include the elderly and sufferers of chronic disease. Young children are typically not at a higher risk, Staley noted.

Symptoms of WNV in humans include general malaise, headache, muscle aches and other flu-type symptoms.

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