The West Nile Virus has returned to Nevada. The Health District's "Mosquito Control Program" found the virus in a cluster of mosquitoes in a wetlands area near Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. News 3's Jesse Corona went live at the Flamingo Wash and says it was routine testing that detected the virus.
Environmental inspectors with the Health District patrol washes and wetlands every March, checking for mosquito larvae. If they find any, it's sent in for testing. But the inspectors also leave something behind to kill the larvae before it can ever become infected with the virus. It's a specific species of fish called "Gambusia Affinis."
Environmental health specialist Jonathan Gore is on a rescue mission. He's re-locating little West Nile crime fighters known as "Gambusia Affinis" out of the path of construction near McCarran Airport. The Health District stocks stagnant washes and wetlands around the valley with the minnow-like fish because it's their favorite food group. "These fish are going to do a really good job of controlling any mosquito production we have down here, "says Gore. "With fish, you're not putting chemicals. There's nothing you're really adding, it's just fish consuming larvae and they kind of form their own lifecycle in there."
The Gambusia consumes mosquito larvae, whether the larvae tests positive for the West Nile Virus or not. They also reproduce rapidly on their own, matching their numbers to the amount of available food. This decreases the mosquito population as well as the number of West Nile clusters.
"It gets really expensive treating with the hormone regulator that we use now, especially when we continue to go out to pools and we don't find any remediation, " says Gore. "So if we put the fish in at first they're free, except for our time. And they'll reproduce and they're control the mosquito population indefinitely as long as their water is there."
This method has been in effect for about five years, and since it has proved so successful this far, the Health District has begun to use them to fight the "green pool" phenomenon at foreclosed homes. The Health District says they only add the fish to swimming pools when the pumps are off and there is no electricity. When the home is purchased, they ask that they new homeowner call the Health District to trap the fish and relocate them to other pools.
Last year, Nevada reported 12 human cases of West Nile Virus. For that reason, the Health District says to eliminate any stagnant water or green swimming pools at or around your home, or report them to the Southern Nevada Health District directly.
