‘Rising danger’

Governor declares state of emergency for Kern County over West Nile virus

BY EMILY HAGEDORN; e-mail: ehagedorn@bakersfield.com | Thursday, Aug 2 2007 9:46 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Aug 2 2007 9:54 PM

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Thursday for Kern County after the number of people infected by West Nile virus in the county climbed to 38, more than all the other counties combined.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, right, discusses the emergency proclamation for the West Nile virus. Bakersfield Mayor Harvey Hall, left, and Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health, listen.

“We’re seeing a rising danger,” Schwarzenegger said, flanked by mosquito-controlling equipment and vehicles at the Kern Mosquito and Vector Control District offices Thursday afternoon. “The important thing is that when you see an increase, you go all out and you fight it.”

Kern County is quickly becoming the “epicenter” for the virus, with two residents dying from the disease so far in the county, said Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, at an early morning press conference. Fifty-six people have been infected by the virus statewide with four deaths, according to the state Department of Public Health.

The state of emergency covers Kern, Colusa and San Joaquin counties — the counties that have had residents die from the disease this year. “That’s a huge amount (of people infected),” Florez said. “This is the opportunity for the governor to get it right.”

Kern hit the hardest
Kern County currently has seen the highest number of cases not only in the state, but nationwide.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, South Dakota has the next highest number of cases with 38. And no county in South Dakota has had more than five cases.

Still, this isn’t an epidemic, said Dr. Mark Horton, director of the state Department of Public Health.

“But we are still very early in the season,” he cautioned. “It could be in a day or two that Kern County is only one of many counties seeing many cases.”

Last year was a mild year for West Nile virus, experts said. California saw 292 cases, with 51 cases in Kern County, the state Department of Public Health reports.

And August and September are typically when infected mosquitoes are the most active.

“Hopefully it has peaked, but looking at this, it could be a long couple of months,” said Robert Quiring, manager of the Kern Mosquito and Vector Control District.

Determining why Kern County has felt the brunt of West Nile cases “is very speculative,” Horton said. “I’m not able to give you a definitive answer.”

But there are many theories.

The hot weather and flight pattern of birds plays a part, Quiring said.

Also the drought conditions have brought more birds and mosquitoes together in the same places, vying for water to drink, many said. The disease can be spread from birds to mosquitoes, which can then spread the disease to humans.

Considering Bakersfield has more water sources, like homes and sewers, than the rest of the county, most of the cases have been seen in the city, Quiring said.

“You have the animals accessing the water; you got the mosquitoes there,” said Dr. Claudia Jonah, the interim director of Kern County public health. “So you’re bringing together a very bad combination.”

Green pools
But the swimming pools abandoned during the recent housing decline may be one of the biggest sources for this rising problem.

“That’s what is fueling this,” Quiring said.

Local default notices, which signal missed mortgage payments, increased by 190.2 percent this spring over a year before, reported DataQuick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based company that tracks real estate activity, last week.

Mosquito abatement employees have come upon pools teeming with the insects, Quiring said. He has aerial shots of Bakersfield where the green, abandoned pools clearly dot neighborhoods.

An unkempt pool was a particular concern for Bakersfield resident Christopher Borges.
His ex-wife and three children live by a home with a stagnant pool and hot tub.
“We never used to put insect repellent on the kids,” said Borges, 38. “Right now, she (his wife) is not having them go out at night at all.”

After three months of asking the Realtor to take care of the pool, another neighbor called vector control.

“The first thing those Realtors should do is contact the vector control and have them treat the pool,” Borges said. “Those people should be the first line when a property has gone back to the bank.”

Schwarzenegger’s proclamation specifically directed local vector control agencies to inspect and empty pools and containers on vacant property.

The state Business, Transportation and Housing Agency and local health department will also work with lenders, Realtors and mortgage brokers to manage this problem, the proclamation said.

Ray Karpe, president of the Bakersfield Association of Realtors, could not be reached for comment.

How much is enough?
In a letter sent to the governor Wednesday, Florez asked for $48 million for Kern, Colusa and San Joaquin counties. He reasoned that $12 million was allocated in 2005-06 and the state has seen a four-fold increase, so the state should set aside four times that amount to combat this problem.

“We need to take bold action,” Florez said. “The reason we had such a bad season this year is because we only put in $3 million” toward it last year. In his proclamation, Schwarzenegger set aside $1.5 million and said more can be made available if needed.

“It doesn’t make any sense to pick out an arbitrary number,” Schwarzenegger said. “If the counties need more, then we will be giving more money.” Florez contends that this amount falls short and may even keep districts from doing more to control the virus.

“I’m not saying that every dollar needs to be spent, but I would hate to think that the folks on the front lines, the public health folks and the vector control folks, would in any way hold back on the most effective eradication efforts because of a soft commitment from their state government,” Florez said via e-mail. “So the $1 million being offered is welcomed but may not even be close to what is truly needed.”
This money will be going to the local vector control districts and public health departments to increase surveillance of the disease, provide more outreach to the community and help eradicate the threat, state officials said.

To get the funds, the local departments will work with the state Department of Public Health, Horton said.

Several local agencies said they would welcome the funds, but it’s too soon to know how much they need.

Quiring, whose Kern Mosquito and Vector Control District is one of four in the county, would like to hire more people to work between April and October. He also wants money to fund more aerial photography, which will help them pinpoint abandoned swimming pools.

The cost of fuel and chemicals are the biggest costs for Duane Lantsberger, manager of the one-man South Fork Mosquito Abatement District based in Kernville.

Jonah at the public health department wants to fund more epidemiological work to help spot trends earlier and to do more education and outreach with the community.
“It’s comforting that it’s being taken more seriously,” said Bakersfield native Phillip McGill, 19, who was diagnosed with West Nile virus last year. He would like to see more money put toward researching the virus and advertisements to urge people to wear repellent.

This action is long overdue, said Diane Wilson Flynn, daughter of Marguerite Wilson, the first person to die from West Nile virus in Kern County this year. Flynn hopes the governor puts enough effort toward controlling the spread of West Nile virus before it becomes an epidemic.

“I would just ask him not to hold back, to pull out all the stops,” Flynn said. “All it takes is an old tire or even a tea cup full of icky-looking water to breed mosquitoes.”

Protect yourself
n Eliminate all sources of stagnant or standing water where mosquitoes can breed.
n Avoid being outdoors at dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are most active.
n When outdoors, wear long sleeves and long pants whenever possible.
n Use insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus according to label instructions.
n Make sure the doors and windows in your home have tight-fitting screens with no holes or tears.
n Contact your mosquito abatement district if there is a significant mosquito problem where you live or work, for a supply of mosquito fish to control larvae in troughs and ponds or to report an abandoned pool. Call the Kern Mosquito and Vector Control District at 589-2744, Westside Mosquito Abatement District at 763-3510, Delano Mosquito Abatement District at 725-3114 or South Fork Mosquito Abatement District at 760-376-4268.
n If you find a dead bird or squirrel, call the state toll-free hotline at 877-WNV-BIRD (877-968-2473).
n Consult veterinarians to properly vaccinate horses.
Source: Kern County Health Department, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Fighting West Nile virus by-the-numbers
$1.5 million: Amount of money pledged in the proclamation Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Thursday.
$48 million: Amount Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, asked Schwarzenegger for Wednesday
$3 million: Amount in the 2006-07 budget to supplement local mosquito control and abatement efforts.
$150,150: Amount Kern County vector control districts were allotted in 2006-07.
$80,000: Amount the Kern Mosquito and Vector Control District was allotted in 2006-07.
$12 million: Amount in the 2005-06 budget to tackle the virus.
$441,974: Amount given to the state by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to California to fight the virus.
Source: California Office of the Governor, Sen. Dean Florez
What is West Nile virus?
West Nile virus is a potentially fatal disease that is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds and can then spread the virus to humans and other animals. What are the symptoms?
About 80 percent of people infected have no symptoms, but symptoms can range from cold-like to high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis.
Who is at risk?
People over 50 and people who are outside a lot are the most at risk.

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