West Nile skeeters show up in Salt Lake

Mosquitoes in Utah's most populous city, Salt Lake, have tested positive for West Nile virus.

The Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District announced Wednesday that the virus was found in four mosquito pools sampled on Aug. 11. The samples were taken from wetland areas within the city limits. No infected mosquitoes were found in the samples taken from the city's more populated areas. But the mosquitoes are known to travel as many as 13 miles in the course of a week, said Sam Dickson, district manager.

That means that infected mosquitoes can be out and about and biting "from the Great Salt Lake to Hogle Zoo and all areas in between," Dickson said. Or beyond.

"They're able to fly anywhere in the valley," he said, but because they breed in the wetland areas, they are more numerous there.

Besides the potential health hazard, Salt Lake City residents will also feel the bite in their wallet. Dickson is asking the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement Board for a 97 percent tax increase. If the plan is approved after a public hearing Aug. 30, the average homeowner will pay $6.84 more per year than they were paying previously.

The increase is due to heightened abatement efforts now that mosquitoes are no longer mere nuisances but also killers.

"If it weren't for West Nile, I don't think we'd be increasing taxes at all this year," Dickson said.

Wednesday's revelation brings the state total to five infected humans, 33 virus-carrying mosquito batches, one dead bird and three sentinel chickens with the virus. The virus has been detected now in Box Elder, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, Duchesne, Grand, Washington and Uintah counties. All the states bordering Utah have reported "at least one type of West Nile virus infection for 2004," according to the Utah Department of Health.

All the Utah mosquitoes that tested positive are Culex tarsalis, which only bite between dusk and dawn. In this area, C. tarsalis breeds and lives mostly around the Great Salt Lake but is very mobile.

Even if someone is bitten by an infected mosquito, there's only a 20 percent chance that symptoms will develop. Most of those people will have symptoms similar to flu, but in a smaller number of cases, individuals will develop neurological symptoms that can be extremely serious. And in extreme cases, the individual can die. The most serious effects are usually felt by the elderly.

Health and mosquito abatement officials remind people that the best way to avoid being infected is to wear products containing DEET. On children, products with 10 percent or less concentration are recommended.