Houston Health Department Urges Mosquito Prevention

HOUSTON, TX — The arrival of spring brings a reminder from the Houston Health Department about the importance of protection against mosquitoes and the viruses they can carry.

The health department’s upcoming Zika prevention workshops will offer Houstonians education, mosquito prevention tips, demonstrations on properly assembling and installing window screens and free working lunch.

The first workshop is scheduled for 10 a.m. — 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 17 at the Kashmere Multi-Service Center, located at 4802 Lockwood Drive. Participants must preregister online to receive lunch.

“Unfortunately, the enjoyable warm weather of spring and summer is a key ingredient for a boom in the mosquito population,” said City of Houston Local Health Authority Dr. David Persse. “These workshops are great opportunities to learn simple actions to help protect yourself, your family and your community from Zika and other mosquito-borne illnesses.”

Zika virus spreads to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti species mosquito. The best way to reduce the risk of infection is to prevent mosquito bites. The health department encourages the 3-D Defense:

• Drain: Drain standing water around your home so mosquitos don’t have a place to breed.
• Dress: Dress in long sleeves and pants when outdoors to limited exposed skin.
• DEET: Apply EPA-approved insect repellent with the ingredient DEET.

Zika can also spread through sexual contact. People who’ve recently traveled to an area with active Zika transmission should use condoms for at least eight weeks to prevent infecting their partner and apply mosquito repellent for at least three weeks to avoid infecting local mosquitoes.

Zika infection during pregnancy can cause a debilitating birth defect of the brain called microcephaly. CDC recommends pregnant women avoid traveling to areas with active Zika transmission.

Many people infected with Zika won’t have symptoms, but for those who do, the illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis (red eyes). Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon.

Since 2015, 41 human cases of Zika virus have been reported in the city of Houston. All cases in the city were travel-associated, meaning the patients acquired the virus abroad before returning to Houston.

“Although this workshop is focused on Zika, the information is the same when it comes to preventing other mosquito-borne infections like West Nile virus, dengue and chikungunya,” Dr. Persse continued. “Together we can help greatly reduce the risk of these viruses in our city.”

Registration for the March 17 Zika prevention workshop and lunch is available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/zika-prevention-workshop-tickets-41310602123.

Additional workshops dates and locations will be announced soon at HoustonHealth.org.

(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)