Yuma County Health Department trains for mosquito season this summer
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - As temperatures rise this summer, the Yuma County Health Department says there’s an increased risk of mosquitoes carrying mosquito-borne diseases.
All week long, the Yuma County Health Department is doing a CDC bio bottle assey training to measure chemical resistance to pesticides in local mosquitoes like here.
"Mosquitoes can spread disease, so what we want to do is make sure that the chemicals we’re using to control these mosquitoes are actually working and actually killing the mosquitoes," said Yuma Health Department Vector Control Program Supervisor Richard Cuming III.
The Centers for Disease Control says mosquitoes are more common during the summer months with the extreme temperatures heating up stagnant water, making it a breeding ground for mosquito pools.
The Health Department says several mosquito pools tested positive for West Nile Virus and Saint Louis Encephalitis in May and June along the Colorado River. There are no human cases in Yuma or any known cases in Imperial County.
They say the research is important to provide hard data for the Mosquito Abatement District. The Health Department says they will continue part two of the training later this year.
