Streets, parking lots and backyards that were recently awash in flood water are now drying out after the historic event that damaged at least 40,000 homes across the southern part of the state.
For weeks, there will be water in overturned trash cans, jars, flower pots, cups, glasses and pots in people's homes. And those small pools of water could increase the risk for mosquito-born illnesses in areas just devastated by the Flood.
Recent headlines have focused on mosquito-born Zika virus and the birth defects that could result if pregnant women are infected. But the bigger concern in Louisiana a few weeks after the flood will be West Nile virus, according to experts.
"The severe flooding in the middle part of the state is going to increase our risk for West Nile," said Frank Welch, the Louisiana Department of Health's director of community preparedness and leader of the state's Zika response team.
In the short-term, the flooding will actually cut down on the mosquito population, making it less likely that a person would contract Wile Nile or any other mosquito-born illness. Mosquitoes can't survive in moving water.
"Natural disasters in the continental United States have rarely been accompanied by outbreaks of viruses spread by mosquitoes. Flooding immediately washes away existing mosquito larvae populations," said Benjamin Haynes, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in a written statement.
But over the next month, the large amounts of standing water that remain in the flooded area will provide a breeding ground for new mosquitoes, and could result in an increased health risk for mosquito-related viruses starting three or four weeks after the flood recedes, Welch said.
Zika isn't as much of a concern as West Nile because of where the flooding took place.
Louisiana has identified a total of 23 cases of Zika in the state, but they have all occurred in people who traveled outside the country to Central and South America. Unlike Florida, Louisiana hasn't had a locally transmitted Zika case yet. In other words, no person in Louisiana has gotten Zika from a local mosquito.
"We do not expect to see an increase in Zika virus as a result of flooding in Louisiana," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said in a statement.
The type of mosquito that carries Zika, called Aedes aegyptyi, also hasn't been found in the parts of Louisiana affected by the flood, Welch said. That mosquito has only been discovered in areas around Lake Pontchartrain, specifically Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, Plaquemines and St. Tammany parishes.
That Zika-carrying mosquito has not been seen in the Baton Rouge, Lafayette or the Florida parishes, where the most standing water is likely to be.
The mosquito that carries Zika also can't travel all that far. They like reeds and long grasses and can't survive unless they are within 50 to 100 yards of people at all times, Welch said.
While they weren't affected by the flood, Welch did warn that many of the communities around Lake Pontchartrain vulnerable to Zika experienced heavy rain over the past few days. With those large downfalls, people living in the New Orleans area should still be mindful of standing water.
"Make sure you turn over any receptacle that ends up with standing water on the ground," Welch said. "The dishes under flower pots are the best breeding environments."
West Nile virus, meanwhile, is a concern in the flooded areas. A Tulane University study published in 2007 found that people were twice as likely to contract a more severe forms of West Nile virus in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi that were most affected by Hurricane Katrina. It's possible a similar spike could happen in the flooded areas.
But the increase in West Nile wasn't necessarily because there were more mosquitoes following Hurricane Katrina, but mostly because people in the areas hit by the storm tended to be outside more during mosquito season, working near standing water.
As people cleaned up and repaired homes after Katrina, they were outside longer and during the time of day when mosquitoes are most active, said Dawn Wesson, a professor at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. The same scenario could occur for survivors of the Louisiana Flood.
The mosquito that carries West Nile, the Culex mosquito, does breed in the communities affected by the flood. These bugs live out in the country and tend to feed on large animals -- such as horses and cattle -- but can travel several miles to reach humans, according to Welch.
Most people who contract West Nile virus experience no symptoms, but the "severe West Nile" -- the version of the disease Wesson said spiked after Katrina -- is very serious. In about one percent of all West Nile cases, people develop a serious neurological illness such as encephalitis or meningitis.
A person with severe West Nile can experience headache, high fever, neck stiffness, disorientation, coma, tremors, seizures, or paralysis -- and often have to be hospitalized. Recovery from the disease can take weeks or months.
Some of the neurologic effects may never go away. About 10 percent of people who contract this form of severe West Nile also end up dying, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
"The big message is to remind people who are working outside and trying to get their houses back in order -- to remind them to wear mosquito repellent while they are out there," Wesson with Tulane University said.
Source :http://www.nola.com/
TAGS: West Nile virus a virus yellow fever flooding in new orleans
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