In The News: Department of Environmental and Global Health
Many travelers live in fear of bed bugs. The small pests are most commonly found in hotel rooms. However, a couple of years ago, visitors to Paris learned that nearly an entire city can become infested. In Paris, bed bugs were stopped everywhere, from movie theatres to the metro.
Two days of record high temperatures could trigger an early response from Mother Nature.
After fires destroyed multiple neighborhoods across Los Angeles County, many residents looked up to find blue, smoke-free skies this week. The Air Quality Index (AQI) — which measures the concentration of pollutants in the air — seemed to confirm all was well in the L.A. atmosphere, with low numbers that suggested clean, healthy air.
With cooler temperatures here, that means mosquito season is thankfully coming to an end. Following up on a story I covered on Monday when I stopped at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ to talk to experts about how bad this past mosquito season was, on Tuesday I wanted to find out what can be done to help fight the problem.
If you have noticed more mosquitoes — or felt their bites — this past summer... You are not alone. Experts said not only did we have more mosquitoes, but we had more cases of West Nile virus when comparing it to previous years.
Mosquito season is here and that means it’s time for us to start being vigilant about protecting ourselves from the pesky pests. While the most common side effect of a mosquito bite is an itchy red bump, mosquitoes can also spread dangerous diseases like West Nile, Lyme disease, Zika, dengue, and more.
The number of confirmed cases of West Nile virus in Clark County has risen again as mosquitoes positive for the virus are found in 44 Southern Nevada zip codes.
51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ and the Las Vegas Raiders are coming together to create a program focused on empowering middle school girls through flag football. Other groups in the Las Vegas valley are using sports to boost body image and mental well-being. Grit, no fear, and getting the job done on a football field.
We’re joined by mosquito and disease expert Dr. Louisa Messenger of the Las Vegas PARAVEC lab. It turns out that gators and snakes aren’t the big danger in a swamp. And this monster isn’t constrained to swamps. In fact, it’s probably in your own backyard.
The Southern Nevada Health District has confirmed the season’s first cases of West Nile virus, underscoring an urgent public health alert. According to a press release from the agency, a man in his 60s contracted the non-neuroinvasive form of the virus, while a man in his 70s faced the more severe neuroinvasive type, which causes inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), or inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord (meningitis).
Two cases of West Nile virus have been found in people, according to the Southern Nevada Health District. SNHD reported the first case of West Nile virus in mosquitoes just over a month ago. Today they announced two men have contracted the illness and are in recovery.
51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ professor and mosquito disease expert Louisa Messenger tells Joe Moeller why Southern Nevada has seen a "massive uptick" in our mosquito population in recent years.