MONTHLY EPIDEMIOLOGY

VOL 5, ISSUE 3 NEWSLETTER FOR JULY SHAWNEE COUNTY EPI- eillance 2021 SURV

in this issue

West Nile Virus P.1

Mosquito Tracking in SNCO P.2 WIC and Administrative Offices Reportable Disease Summary 2600 SW East Circle Drive P.3 Topeka, Kansas 66606 785-251-5600

Immunization/ Communicable Disease Clinic West Nile Virus: A Summertime Health Risk th 2115 SW 10 Street As mosquito season approaches its peak, so does Some individuals, however, suffer severe and debilitating Topeka, Kansas 66604 the threat of vector-borne illnesses. One of the most illness after contracting the virus. Approximately 1 in 150 785-251-5700 individuals who are infected with WNV develop , common among these is West Nile virus- a disease Environmental Health that can go unnoticed but man have potentially fatal aseptic , or acute flaccid paralysis. The conditions 1515 NW Saline, Suite 221 may result in permanent damage to the central nervous effects. In the summer and fall months it is Topeka, Kansas 66618 system, or, for approximately 10% of these cases, death. 785-251-5608 particularly important to know the signs and take steps for prevention. Due to the potentially deadly effects of WNV , it should be considered in any patient experiencing febrile NEED TO REPORT A According to the CDC, West Nile virus (WNV) is the illness or acute neurological symptoms during the time of year COMMUNICABLE leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the United that mosquitoes are active. Patients who have received a DISEASE? States. The Kansas Department of Health and blood transfusion or organ transplant should also be noted at Environment (KDHE) has categorized all of Kansas with Call the Kansas Department risk. WNV is not the only arbovirus that cause encephalitis of Health and Environment the exception of the northwest corner as high risk for the and aseptic meningitis, so others, such as La Crosse, St. disease due to high temperatures and high prevalence Louis encephalitis, Eastern equine encephalitis, and Epidemiology Hotline 24/7 of its vectors- mosquitoes mostly of Culex species. 877-427-7317 Powassan viruses, should be included in differential Mosquitoes carrying the virus have already been Call the Health Department diagnosis. WNV is nationally notifiable and should be detected in seven states, including Iowa, Illinois, 24/7 reported immediately. 785-806-6297 Arkansas, Arizona, New York, Massachusetts, and

Colorado. Four of these states also reported human The incubation period for WNV is usually 2 to 6 days, but can Disease Reporting cases of WNV. be much longer in individuals with compromised immune Information: systems. Most patients with WNV will show no abnormalities List of Reportable Diseases Most (70-80%) cases of WNV are asymptomatic. One Disease Reporting Information on routine clinical lab work. Patients who have developed in five infected individuals develop febrile illness and Kansas Reportable Disease neuroinvasive disease may initially present with neutrophilia, Form may experience , myalgia, arthralgia, progressing to lymphocytic pleocytosis upon cerebrospinal Disease Investigation vomiting, diarrhea, or transient maculopapular rashes. fluid examination. WNV is a disease that may easily go Guidelines Most of these cases result in complete recovery, but it undetected, but in these hot summer months it is an important

may take months for fatigue and weakness to wear off. consideration when diagnosing patients.

Number of Mosquitoes by Location, How can county 2021 residents help 500 Mosquito control the 400 300 mosquito 200 Surveillance in 100 population? 0 Shawnee Everyone can play a part in mosquito control. Here are a few Trap in of Mosquitoes # County Date of Collection measures people can take on Elmont Silver Lake Wakarusa their own property to help keep A group of researchers are at Alameda Sumner the mosquito population down: work tracking the mosquito Mosquito Genera/Species Nomenclature: » Remove Standing Water population in the county Culicidae: Group of ~3,500 species of small flies that Mosquitoes lay eggs in in standing throughout mosquito season. water. Common sources of this include mosquitoes include tires, buckets, planters, Their work is essential in keeping toys, pools, birdbaths, and trash Culex: Genus of mosquitoes which includes vectors of containers. Clean these out weekly, the population under control and important arboviral diseases such as WNV, Japanese or find a way to keep them covered encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, filariasis, and avian tightly. Fill tree holes if possible. If preventing mosquito-borne malaria. you have a septic tank, make sure to repair cracks or gaps and cover Treehole Mosquitoes: Species of mosquitoes that breed open vents or plumbing pipes. disease in Shawnee County. in stagnant water found in natural holding containers like

Invertebrate zoologist D. Christopher Rogers, Ph.D., has tree holes, including the Eastern (Ochlerotatus triseriatus) » Kill Mosquito Larvae Outdoors been lending his expertise to the Kansas Biological and Western (Aedes sierrensis) Treehole Mosquitoes. These species are carriers of La Crosse encephalitis and For larger bodies of water that Survey for over 11 years. He leads a team that collects filariasis most commonly, but are capable of transmitting cannot be covered or dumped out and will not be used for drinking, and records weekly data reports on the number of other arboviral diseases as well. add larvicides to kill larvae before they can mature to adulthood. mosquitoes in different parts of the county, the precipitation for comparison to the weekly mosquito count. Mosquito dunks are available predominant species, and pertinent environmental upon request at the Health Data is compared among the past three years in order to Department at 2600 SW East conditions that affect this data. They set mosquito traps identify potential trends. A comparison chart, updated Circle Drive. Please call (785) 251-5601 for more information. at five different locations in Shawnee County, including weekly, is available on the SNCO Health Department

Elmont, Silver Lake, Wakarusa, Alameda, and Sumner, website at this link. The current chart comparing the total » Kill Adult Mosquitoes Outdoors and inspect them once a week to obtain a count of the number of mosquitoes by week for the last three years is Kill adult mosquitoes using an outdoor adulticide in places they total Culex and other Culicidae species of mosquitoes in featured below. Data from the year 2020 is incomplete, as commonly rest: dark, humid areas each location. In addition, the team records the week’s like under the garage or patio collection started in July. Although it is still early in mosquito furniture. maximum, minimum, and average temperature and season, so far the total number of mosquitoes has been

significantly lower than in 2019. One notable difference Dr.

Mosquito Surveillance in Shawnee County, KS Rogers has observed for the year 2021 is the unusual

predominance of treehole mosquitoes, possibly indicating 2021 Season 3000 increasing sources of stagnant water. These types of

2500 mosquitoes are the primary vector of canine heartworm

2000 disease, posing a threat to local pets who are not on 1500 preventive. 1000

500 The data Dr. Rogers collects plays an important role in 0 guiding mosquito control tactics across the county. It can 5-Jul 7-Jun 4-Oct

6-Sep reveal whether or not current methods and chemicals used 2-Aug 9-Aug 12-Jul 19-Jul 26-Jul 14-Jun 21-Jun 28-Jun 11-Oct 13-Sep 20-Sep 27-Sep 16-Aug 23-Aug 30-Aug 17-May 24-May 31-May

Total Number Mosquitoes Number of Total in spraying are proving effective. However, mosquito control Week of Mosquito Trapping goes beyond spraying programs and is significantly

2019 2020 2021 dependent upon community members doing their part in

eliminating mosquito breeding sources.

SPOTLIGHT Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Reportable Disease Summary Cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Diseases Jan-Jun 2021 Jan-Jun 2020 2018-2020 3-Year or Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis (SFR) as Jan-Jun Average they are now categorized, have been on

Bloodborne the rise for the past two decades, soaring Hepatitis C, Acute 1 0 0.3 from 495 in 2000 to 6,248 in 2017. Hepatitis C, Chronic 105 78 93.7 Shawnee County already has seven reported cases of SFR this year, Food & Waterborne overshadowing its two cases of the

Campylobacteriosis 12 4 23.3 generally much more common tick-borne Cryptosporidiosis 1 4 2 .

Cyclosporiasis 3 4 1.3 SFR cases in Kansas are most likely to be Giardiasis 6 2 3.7 transmitted by the American dog tick Shigellosis 5 0 20.3 (Dermacentor variabilis). Respiratory

Coccidiomycosis 1 2 1.3 Histoplasmosis 10 4 2

Streptococcus pneumoniae, 5 16 46.7 invasive disease Tuberculosis, Active 8 0 2 Symptoms of SFR begin 3-12 days after

Tuberculosis, Latent 18 28 20 the patient is bitten and may include

Infection (LTBI) sudden onset of fever and . Haemophilus influenzae, 2 4 4.3 These may be followed by GI symptoms, invasive disease (including Hib) abdominal pain, myalgia, edema around Vectorborne the eyes and on the back of the hands, and petechial rash. Babesiosis 1 0 0 Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis 3 10 6.7 (RMSF)

Lyme Disease (Borrelia 2 0 1.3 burgdorferi) Vaccine Preventable The disease progresses rapidly, and

Hepatitis A 1 1 0.3 without early doxycycline administration Hepatitis B, Acute 2 2 2 death can occur within days. SFR is clearly an important consideration in the Hepatitis B, Chronic 16 9 8 months of warm weather and outdoor

Varicella (Chickenpox) 2 3 5.3 activities.