DOVER – DNREC’s Mosquito Control Section and the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) share tips on mosquito-borne illness prevention and precautions in the new video, “Zika Virus, Mosquitoes & You,” on DNREC’s YouTube Channel.

DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay and Mosquito Control Section Biologist Thomas Moran talk about the Zika virus, including how it is spread – including by bites from carrier mosquitoes and from expectant mothers to their unborn babies – as well as prevention and monitoring efforts, and what Delawareans can do to reduce their chances of exposure to Zika and other mosquito-borne illnesses.

In the video, Dr. Rattay urges bite prevention as the best medicine. “First and foremost, use an EPA-certified insect repellent. Stay inside where it’s air-conditioned, or use screens in windows or doors. Wear long sleeves. Wear long pants,” she says. Dr. Rattay also goes into detail about protecting children from mosquito bites, how best to apply repellent to children and using mosquito netting, not repellent, on babies less than two months old.

Delawareans also are encouraged to be proactive in their own backyards to eliminate or reduce mosquito breeding habitat by eliminating standing water. “Anything in the backyard that holds water can breed the primary species of concern that could carry Zika, the Asian tiger mosquito … These mosquitoes can breed in extremely small habitats – we’re talking a bottle cap,” Moran says in the video. “If you can eliminate the containers to begin with, that’s the best option. If not, they need to be emptied regularly and kept from accumulating water.”

To request relief from intolerable numbers of biting mosquitoes and/or an inspection or treatment of potential mosquito-breeding areas, call Mosquito Control’s field offices:

• Glasgow Office, 302-836-2555, serving New Castle County and the northern half of Kent County, including Dover
• Milford Office, 302-422-1512, serving the southern half of Kent County south of Dover and all of Sussex County

For more information about Delaware’s Mosquito Control program, including more information about how to prevent or get rid of standing water that produces mosquitoes, call the field offices or the main Dover office at 302-739-9917, or visit http://de.gov/mosquito.

For more information about Zika and other mosquito-borne illnesses in humans, please contact the Delaware Division of Public Health at 302-744-1033 or 888-295-5156, or visit http://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/zika.html.

Facts and information on Zika and mosquito control also are available at the following links:

• English: http://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/files/zikafaq.pdf
• Spanish: http://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/files/zikafaqsp.pdf
• Haitian Creole: http://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/files/zikafaqhc.pdf

As of this date, DPH has confirmed three travel-related Zika cases in Delaware. All were the result of mosquito bites that occurred abroad, and none involved a pregnant woman. There are no confirmed cases of local transmission due to a mosquito bite in the continental U.S. at this time.

DNREC’s Mosquito Control Section in the Division of Fish & Wildlife provides statewide services to about 945,000 Delaware residents and 7.5 million visitors annually to maintain quality of life and protect public health by reducing the possibility of mosquito-borne illnesses such as West Nile virus, eastern equine encephalitis, chikungunya and Zika virus. Throughout the warmer months, Mosquito Control monitors and treats mosquito populations that emerge from wetland areas throughout the state, including ditches, stormwater ponds, wet woodlands and coastal salt marshes, using EPA-registered insecticides. These insecticides have been determined by EPA to pose no unreasonable risk to human health, wildlife or the environment when professionally applied. The Section also works year-round on water and marsh management projects designed to reduce mosquito populations, and provides the public with information on dealing with mosquitoes, from reducing backyard mosquito production to avoiding mosquito bites. For more information, call 302-739-9917 or visit http://de.gov/mosquito.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 162

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