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The health department will be providing the towns with “mosquito- control kits,” complete with instructions on removing standing water, mosquito larvicide tablets called “dunks,” and mosquito repellants. These free kits will be available to residents through their towns upon request beginning in early summer, as long as supplies last.
“Mosquito control efforts are only as successful as our public outreach and education,” says Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell. “I am pleased our health department and towns are working together to coordinate messages to home owners. Removing mosquito breeding sites around their homes by eliminating water is our first and our best line of defense. Avoiding bites is number two.”
Interim Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Nesheiwat, has been providing ongoing guidance to local healthcare providers on the virus' transmission and the importance of travel restrictions for pregnant women.
“Our health care providers are well informed and are considering Zika virus in diagnosis of patients who have traveled to the affected areas,” Nesheiwat said. “Although we have not yet had a case of local transmission, we are remaining diligent in efforts to decrease this chance through stepped up surveillance and ongoing education.”
Health department nurses have been responding to calls from concerned residents, who have travelled or who may be pregnant, and coordinating lab testing with their healthcare providers. Environmental health staff at the health department have also been tracking mosquito activities to watch the numbers and types of mosquitoes breeding in the area.
Currently no mosquito species known to carry Zika virus have been found in Putnam this year.
To request a speaker for a community gathering, please call the health education unit at 808-1390.
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