Of course, the coronavirus pandemic may complicate Miami-Dade’s West Nile problem
While Miami-Dade County scrambles to try and slow a surge in coronavirus cases, county mosquito-control chief William Petrie has his own outbreak to contend with.
On Friday, state health officials reported 10 more cases of West Nile virus in the county, suggesting an aggressive spread of the mosquito-borne illness.
Petrie said this summer’s resurgence of West Nile probably just reflects the heavy rains that cause mosquito populations to explode. More mosquitoes mean more mosquito bites, increasing the odds of human infection.
“We had a long drought, followed by heavy rains,” Petrie said after a press conference called Friday at the division’s warehouse to urge the public to take mosquito precautions like draining standing water and using bug spray. “We had two relatively quiet seasons. And 2020, of course, like everything else in 2020, we’ve had a busy season. Lots and lots of mosquitoes.”
There have been 14 cases of West Nile in Miami-Dade this year, so the single day addition of 10 is significant.
Also Friday, the state announced 10 cases of dengue fever in Monroe County, home to the Florida Keys.
While both are spread by mosquitoes, dengue tends to cause more serious flu-like symptoms while most people with West Nile don’t feel sick. Miami-Dade had a dengue cluster at the end of 2019, but West Nile is the bigger concern for the mosquito division in June, spraying for adult mosquitoes and larva.
“We’re working flat out,” Petrie said. “We’ve got as many trucks out as much as we can, seven nights a week.”
He sees the coronavirus as a potential factor in the West Nile spike, because the economic measures and safety precautions to fight the spread have disrupted daily lives so severely.
“People have been home for the past three months,” he said. “Out in the backyard more often perhaps. On the balcony. It’s speculation on my part. That could be playing into it.”
This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 5:58 PM.