Because 2020 Wasn’t Bad Enough As Is, Mosquitoes In Oak Cliff, North Dallas And Southern Dallas Have Now Tested Positive For The Old Familiar Scourge.

As if dealing with a global pandemic (and all that implies) as well as ongoing social unrest weren’t enough, an old foe has re-entered the 2020 chat.

Over the past few weeks, mosquitoes in sections of Oak Cliff, North Dallas and southern Dallas have tested positive for carrying the West Nile virus. Workers with the Dallas County Health and Human Services Department, as is their pretty much annual wont, have responded this week, last week and the previous week by spraying an EPA-approved insecticide throughout the infected neighborhoods.

As with the coronavirus, West Nile infectious are most dangerous among the elderly and immunocompromised. Still, with symptoms including high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and even paralysis, contracting the virus at any age doesn’t exactly sound like a joy ride.

SEE ALSO:
• ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY. // Just How Dangerous Is The West Nile Virus Anyway?
• BITE ME. // We Talked To A Guy That Got 900 Mosquito Bites. In One Day. On Purpose.

Experts report that the mosquitoes most likely to carry West Nile tend to be most active at dusk and dawn. In case you were wondering: While the mosquitoes that are more active during the daytime are less likely to carry West Nile, they’re more likely to carry Zika, dengue and chikungunya — how fun!

So it’s probably best to try avoiding mosquito bites altogether then, yeah? Lest you somehow haven’t yet heard, the best defenses there are to dress in long sleeves and pants when outside (a real treat in the Texas summer heat), to use insect repellent whenever possible and to drain standing pools of water (which mosquitoes use to breed) in your yard or neighborhood.

Man, isn’t 2020 just the best?

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