 Hello, my name is Andrea Ellis, City of Fort Worth Co-compliance Department. I'm a co-supervisor with the Consumer Health Division, and today I would like to talk to you about the mosquito disease awareness for the City of Fort Worth. I would like for you to get a better understanding of what the mosquito diseases are in our area, what the city is doing, and how you can protect yourself. These are some interesting facts about mosquitoes that I would like to present to you. There are roughly 3,000 mosquito species worldwide. 85 of those are here in Texas. The two that we're primarily concerned about are the Qlex mosquitoes, which carry West Nile virus, and the 80s mosquitoes, which carry chicken gunia, which we're going to talk about a little bit later. Another interesting fact is that only female mosquitoes actually take the blood meal or actually bite people. One of the things that we are also concerned about with the mosquitoes is that some of them do carry heartworms, so it's always important to get your dogs and cats into the veterinary office to have them treated and tested for heartworms. I know the slide looks like a high school science class, but let me just walk you through it real quick. The mosquito life cycle is very important to understand whenever we talk about prevention and protection. In the top left corner, you'll see a female mosquito laying eggs in the water. That's a really important point to remember. If you'll follow the blue arrow to the right, you'll see some black oval shaped objects. Those are also mosquito eggs. The next blue arrow points to the mosquito larva. The larvae have to survive in water, but they do have to have air in order to live, and you'll notice that they're kind of hanging from the top of the water surface. There are different sizes of mosquito larvae. They go through about four different stages, and then they turn into a pupa, which is the lower right hand corner photo. What's important to remember about this stage is that the pupa also needs air to survive. So then if you'll follow to the left, you'll see some pupa that's hanging from the water surface, and then once they're ready, they will emerge into an adult mosquito. We've heard about West Nile virus for some time now. It's been in the United States since 1999, but it's always good to have a refresher course. The photo that's on the slide is an iceberg, and I feel as though it represents the virus and how it affects people. The symptoms that are on this slide are from the Centers of Disease Control, but if you have any specific questions, please feel free to contact a medical professional. The takeaway message from this slide is that the West Nile virus only affects 20% of the people. 80% of the people that have the virus will never show symptoms. Tarrant County Public Health has been tracking human cases of West Nile virus since 2002. You'll notice every year we do have some cases of West Nile virus occurring in Tarrant County. In 2012, North Texas experienced the largest amount of West Nile virus human cases in the history of tracking it. In Tarrant County alone, we had over 250 cases. 86 of those were in the city of Fort Worth. Since 2012, the city of Fort Worth has partnered with the University of North Texas Health Science Center. This partnership has allowed the city to increase the amount of mosquito testing sites, so now the testing is being conducted in all areas of Fort Worth. This is all in an effort to better protect you, your family, and your neighbors. In addition to West Nile virus, North Texas is starting to see a new mosquito disease called chikungunya, or chikv. This disease is slowly making its way to the United States. It's a very debilitating viral disease that transmitted basically from human to human by the bite of a mosquito. Chikungunya was first described and isolated in an outbreak in Tanzania in 1952. It has re-emerged in 2004 and since then has slowly been making its way to the United States. According to the Centers of Disease Control, the symptoms for chikungunya, or chikv, are somewhat similar to West Nile virus. With chikungunya, about three to seven days after you get bitten by a mosquito, you may develop a high fever, something over 102 degrees. One of the main symptoms of chikungunya, or chikv, is a severe joint pain and inflammation. It almost resembles severe arthritis. Lately, you may have heard of chikungunya being in the United States. Here is the map of the United States as of January 13, 2015. You'll notice that most of the states on here have confirmed cases of chikungunya. What's important to note is that here in Texas, in North Texas specifically, the only confirmed cases that we've had have been travel-associated cases, meaning someone has gone out of the country, acquired the disease, and came back. North Texas area has not had any locally acquired cases of chikungunya. Chikungunya and West Nile virus are both transmitted by mosquitoes, but they do have some differences that we're going to get into here shortly. One of the important factors when dealing with chikungunya versus West Nile virus is to know the transmission cycle. Chikungunya is transmitted from one infected person being bitten by a mosquito, and then that mosquito can then transmit the disease to another person. So basically has a person-mosquito-person transmission cycle. With West Nile virus, the mosquito actually has to pick up the virus from an infected bird. Once the mosquito feeds off the infected bird, the mosquito can then transmit the disease to a person. That person cannot transmit West Nile virus to another person via mosquito. Remember the iceberg slide from earlier in their presentation. With West Nile virus, 80% of the people will not show any symptoms. That is completely opposite with chikungunya. With chikungunya, 80% of the people will show symptoms. Chikungunya and West Nile virus are carried by two different types of mosquitoes. Chikungunya is typically carried by what we consider the daytime mosquitoes. These are the little black and white mosquitoes that bother you when you're out mowing your yard or just trying to spend time with your family. The West Nile virus mosquitoes are typically out during at nighttime or dusk and dawn. The important thing about these two different types of mosquitoes is that they both require water to lay their eggs in. They are both prevented the same way. When dealing with these two types of mosquitoes, prevention is key. Prevention is how we can all make a difference by protecting ourselves from West Nile virus and chikungunya. The most important aspect of prevention are the following. Drain all standing water from your yard. This will eliminate any breeding sources that may be around there. Check the pet bowls. Make sure you refresh those daily. Drain any bird baths you may have. Another aspect of prevention is to wear light-colored clothing, long-sleeved shirts, and pants when you're outside. Also, always try to use insect repellent that has DEET or some other EPA-approved repellent. Make sure that you check and repair all the screens on your doors and windows. This will eliminate mosquitoes coming into your house if you want to keep your windows open. The photographs in this slide reminds us that standing water is not just in our backyard. It can be in the alleyways behind our houses and dried-up creek beds that are now overflowing due to the high rains that we've had or in the storm drain outfalls that are not flowing anymore. This is where you can be our eyes and ears and report these locations to us. If you do happen to have standing water in your own property, you can go to a local hardware store and buy LarvaSide to treat those mosquito larvae. This LarvaSide is non-toxic but still wear gloves as it is a naturally occurring bacteria found in the soil. It's always important to wash your hands after you apply the LarvaSide with warm water and soap. As I mentioned earlier, the city is trapping for mosquitoes. I want you to be aware of the different types of traps that you may see located throughout the City of Fort Worth. The vast majority of these are located in fire stations, but some are set in residential areas and some are set in the city parks. In this picture, this is one example of a trap that we're setting. This next is another example of a trap that you may find in the local parks throughout the City of Fort Worth. The City of Fort Worth places a strong emphasis on education and public outreach. Some of the ways that we share information is on our city website and through literature like the flyer that's on the slide. From time to time, you may see some information being shared through public service announcements on cable TV. We also work with community leaders in your neighborhood association and local businesses. We certainly share information on social media such as Twitter and Facebook. Now that we've learned about mosquitoes and the diseases that they carry, what the City is doing, and how you can protect yourself, there are some takeaway messages from this presentation. Please remember that prevention is key. Always drain standing water, larvicide when the opportunity is there, dress appropriately when you're outside, and always wear a mosquito repellent to avoid the mosquito bites. You can call the City of Fort Worth Co-Compliance Call Center at 817-392-1234 if you have any further questions or concerns. Thank you for watching the presentation. Remember, if you have any questions or concerns, please call our call center at 817-392-1234.