"West Nile Virus Alert"

Hello District 29 Neighbors: I received a phone call from Dr. Bill Paul today and below are the details of the reason for his call. Please note the following very important information that pertains to our area of District 29. Please take precaution while you and your family is out and about. Please call me at 589-2003 or email me from here if you have any questions or concerns about this notice. Gratefully, Vivian Dr. Bill Paul, Director of the Davidson County - Metropolitan Health Department says: Dear Council Members: This information will be released to the press this afternoon. A pool of mosquitoes collected by the Metro Public Health Department have tested positive for West Nile virus. The mosquitoes were trapped in Antioch near the intersection of Bell Road and Murfreesboro Road. This is the first time mosquitoes have tested positive in Nashville this year. There have been no human WNV cases reported this year in Davidson County. The Health Department’s Pest Management staff will increase surveillance efforts in the area by placing additional mosquito traps and monitoring standing water and applying larvicides when mosquito larvae are present. The Health Department has no plans at this time to spray the area. “While Nashville has had occasional cases of WNV in humans over the years, there has never been an outbreak,” said Bill Paul, M.D., Director of Health. “Our approach to this positive mosquito pool is to monitor closely to see whether it is more than an isolated positive.

1. However because the virus is here we recommend that people to take common-sense precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.”
2. Safety precautions to protect against biting mosquito: Limit time outdoors at dusk and nighttime hours when mosquitoes are present.
3. When outdoors wear a mosquito repellent that is approved for use by the CDC – those include products that contain DEET, Picaridin, and Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus.
4. Wear shoes, socks, long sleeve shirts and pants when outdoors during dusk to dawn when mosquitoes are most prevalent. Clothing should be light colored and made of tightly woven materials to keep mosquitoes away from the skin. Pant legs should be tucked into shoes or socks, and collars should be buttoned.
5. Make sure your windows and doors have screens and are in good repair. The Health Department asks community members to reduce or eliminate mosquito breeding grounds by removing standing water in your yard – especially in children’s toys, bird baths, clogged gutters, tires, flowerpots, trashcans, and wheelbarrows, as well as cutting back overgrown vegetation (mosquito hiding areas).

Health Department Pest Management staff have inspected more than 1,500 locations in all areas of Nashville, applied larvicides at more than 600 locations, and have set more than 600 mosquito traps from May 1st through June 30th of this year. Health Department staff continues to monitor mosquito populations several nights per week in 24 traps located throughout the county.

Bill Paul William S. Paul, MD, MPH

Director of HealthMetro Public Health Department of Nashville/Davidson County311 23rd Avenue NorthNashville, TN 37203615.340.5622

615.340.2131