The CDC has released the latest numbers on illnesses from mosquitoes, fleas and ticks, and they show a large jump in infections.
As the weather and humidity continue to climb, do you know how to protect yourself from getting a nasty infection?
The CDC says illnesses have tripled in the last 13 years, with more than 640,000 cases reported.
North Central Health District public information officer Michael Hokanson says after last year’s Zika outbreak, they’re getting ahead of the game in 2018.
“We learned from that experience and [are] even more knowledgeable. We’ll be doing surveillance earlier [and] we’ll start testing these mosquitoes earlier to see if there’s any sign of Zika in the mosquito population,” said Hokanson.
Zika and West Nile virus are two illnesses with some common symptoms that can be prevented by taking proper precautions.
“Wear long clothing if you can, if it’s not too hot. If you can’t wear long clothing, use the EPA regulated repellent on any exposed skin,” said Hokanson.
With the recent rain we’ve seen, it takes roughly a bottle cap full of standing water for mosquitoes to breed.
“Any toys or anything like that that you have around your home that rainwater can get into, make sure those are emptied,” said Hokanson. “It only takes 10-14 days for them to go from egg to biting you.”
He says an easy thing to remember is to ‘tip and toss’ when it comes to getting rid of standing water around your home.