Caution advised as West Nile is found in Hill County

West Nile virus has been identified in mosquito pools in this area as the Hill County Mosquito Control District struggles to keep up amid a labor shortage.

West Nile has been confirmed this month in Hill County and was confirmed last month in Blaine County, although no human or horse cases have been confirmed.

"Increased mosquito population leads to increased risk," said Hill County Mosquito Control District Supervisor Terry Turner.

Turner said the mosquito-borne illness only has severe symptoms in less than 1 percent of cases, but it can be deadly and he doesn't want to see anyone suffer anything like that, so he's urging everyone to be cautious.

Mosquitos are most active during dawn and dusk, so, he said, people should try to wear long sleeves during those hours and consider using mosquito repellant.

He said mosquitos tend to be attracted to darker clothes during those hours so lighter colors are usually advisable to wear, and flea collars will help pets avoid mosquito bites as well.

He also said that people should make sure that containers of standing water are closed or drained.

Turner said the mosquito district, established in 2004, has made great strides in reducing local mosquito populations and thus preventing the virus from spreading as badly as it otherwise would, which he credits to the district's workers.

Unfortunately, he said, one of the district's most vital workers, Josh Miller, who was also a member of Havre City Council, died unexpectedly early this year which set the department's work back significantly.

He said Miller could work for the district any day in the week, but most of their other workers can't do weekends and work other jobs so his loss was huge.

Miller, who pioneered the district's drone program, which significantly streamlined their operations, had a severe case of West Nile when he was young, which caused him to become immuno-supressed, which was one of his motivations to join the district.

"We were blessed to have him," Miller said.

Turner said the district in general is having trouble getting anyone to apply for jobs there, and he thinks their salaries are a big part of the issue, one that needs to be addressed if they are going to solve this ongoing problem.

In the meantime, he said, they just can't do as much fogging for mosquitoes as they once did, and, based on the number of mosquitos they are catching in their traps, that has lead to a considerable increase in the population of mosquitos, though that increased number is still an order of magnitude less than it was before the district was established.

Before 2004, he said, a trap could catch between 3,800 and 4,000 mosquitos, and the last three traps they left out have caught 373, 110, and 480 respectively, so the district is still working, he said.

Turner said they are getting a lot of calls about the mosquitos and they want to do more, but they only have so much money and manpower.

"We do the best we can but the trucks don't drive themselves," he said. "Not yet anyway."

Turner said he's spoken to people in other regions who have much larger mosquito populations, including one person in the Highland Mountains area who said the mosquitos are so bad that horses are being born with deformed heads, and he hopes that Hill County never gets to a point like that.

As for West Nile virus, he said, they are still waiting on this week's test results from Carroll College, whose students handle the testing, but so far they have only had one positive test in pools in Hill County, none in people or horses.

Turner said the virus is being detected in almost every county along the Milk River Corridor as well.

While West Nile is the only serious mosquito-borne illness the area regularly sees, at least for humans, the mosquitos that carry it seem to be getting more and more prominent within local populations in recent years.

Turner said it wasn't that long ago that the kind of mosquitos that can carry the virus made up about 30 percent of the local population, but now that ratio has nearly flipped.

He said the insects are becoming increasingly adapted to the area, and the changing climate is almost certainly aiding their population.

Indeed, he said, as temperatures get warmer, more and more mosquito-borne illnesses are making their way farther and farther north including Rift Valley Fever, and Dengue Fever, both of which can be deadly and seem to be spreading as mosquito habitats expand.

Malaria is also being seen in the U.S. he said, and Zika Virus is slowly but surely making its way north as well.

Turner said he, of course, hopes these never make it into the area, especially since disease-carrying ticks are already seeing a population explosion, but the way things are going it might just be a matter of time.

Even without the mosquitos' habitats expanding, he said, it's important to note that many of these diseases and viruses can be brought to the area by people coming back from trips.

"A lot of these diseases are just an airplane trip away," he said.

Turner said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website is an excellent resource for information on all kinds of mosquito-borne illnesses so if people are looking to know more that would be a great place to start.