Two Rivers Public Health Department
701 4th Avenue, Suite 1
Holdrege, NE 68949
308-995-4778
Contact: Heather Easton, Environmental Coordinator
Or Kerrey Miller, Surveillance Coordinator
June 25, 2009
For immediate release:

Take Precautions to Avoid Insect-related Illnesses

The state of South Dakota has recorded it first confirmed human case of West Nile Virus in 2009.
Two Rivers Public Health Department would like to remind you that the recent rains in Nebraska
have created optimum conditions for breeding mosquitoes and ticks. To avoid insect-related
illnesses people need to take precautions when they are outdoors.

A good way to avoid both ticks and mosquitoes is to wear insect repellent. FDA-approved insect
repellents are: DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, and IR3535. Always read the repellent
label, for example, DEET should not be used on infants less than 2 months old and oil of lemon
eucalyptus should not be used on children under 3 years old.

To avoid insect bites, it’s a good idea to wear solid shoes and socks, long pants and long-sleeved
shirts. Avoid being outdoors during dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active. To avoid
ticks, tuck your pants into your socks. Check yourself and your pets when you come indoors.
Ticks can be as small as the size of a poppy seed. Remove a tick promptly by taking a tweezers
and pulling it out as close to its mouth parts as possible. Don’t use alcohol or a lit match.
Ticks can cause erlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia and Lyme disease.
Mosquitoes can cause West Nile virus, Eastern Equine encephalitis, and St. Louis encephalitis,
which are all potentially very serious diseases. The symptoms of tick- and mosquito-borne
illnesses can be similar—fever, rash, muscle or joint aches, nausea, and confusion. The illnesses
can be deadly.

To prevent mosquitoes, eliminate their breeding places by eliminating standing water. Empty out
buckets, tires, dog dishes and flower pots. Check your roof gutters to see if they’re holding
standing water. Add larvicides to ponds and lagoons. Change the water in bird baths every five
days.

For more information about insect-related illnesses, go to the Web site of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention at: www.cdc.gov or contact Two Rivers Public Health Department at:
888-669-7154 or 995-4778.