Mosquitoes collected in the Bay County area tested positive for the Jamestown Canyon Virus last week. They are the first infected mosquito pools of 2022 in Michigan.
Half of the patients that are diagnosed with Jamestown Canyon are hospitalized, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).
Dr. Emily Dinh, a medical entomologist at the MDHHS, said the best way to avoid the virus is to avoid mosquito bites. She recommends repairing window and door screens, using EPA-approved repellent, and wearing long sleeves and pants at dawn and dusk, when mosquitos are especially active.
She also says standing water in objects like pet bowls, troths, birdbaths, or children's toys, can be a breeding spot for mosquitos and should be tossed at least once a week.
“Just a little bit of water can support baby mosquitoes, and so when you throw it when you toss and dump out that water, you eliminate the ability for the mosquitoes to reproduce”
Initial symptoms can include fever, headache and fatigue, and sometimes respiratory issues like a cough and runny nose. In rare cases, it can cause severe disease in the brain or spinal cord.
Mosquitoes were tested by the MDHHS Bureau Laboratory for their mosquito surveillance expansion, which Dinh said was initiated in 2021. The Bay County program that discovered the Virus is one of four locally funded mosquito control programs in Michigan.
“Generally, these counties report fewer human cases of mosquito borne disease compared to counties without a mosquito control program,” she said. “So I hope that mosquito control can be expanded throughout Michigan to enhance the public's quality of life and health.”
Dinh said the program does a “tremendous job” of reducing the mosquito population and subsequent diseases.
“The silver lining in the pandemic was that it really sparked interest in other diseases that are out there and not well characterized in Michigan,” she said.
Dinh recommends seeing a healthcare provider if you think you may be infected with the Jamestown Canyon Virus.
For more information about the Jamestown Canyon Virus, visit https://www.cdc.gov/jamestown-canyon/index.html
