The Ouachita Parish Mosquito Abatement District issued a list of seven locations that tested positive for West Nile Virus.
The mosquito pools that tested positive for West Nile on July 9 and 10 include:
- Near the intersection of I-20 and Orange Street
- Garden District
- Near Bernstein Park
- Between Forsythe Avenue and the Ouachita River
- Near Lakewood Estates subdivision
- Near Davis Street in Sterlington
- Near Howard Brown Road in West Ouachita Parish
Testing was conducted by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.
The affected areas are scheduled to be treated by air on Tuesday, July 17 and Thursday July 19.
Officials remind the public that when working outdoors, particularly during the evening, everyone should take personal protective measures. Those measures include wearing a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and the use of an EPA-approved insect repellant. The repellant should be applied to exposed skin and on thin clothing, as mosquitoes can bite through thin clothing.
Eliminating breeding grounds for mosquitoes is the other part of prevention, according to mosquito control experts. They advise taking care to ensure that containers that could hold water are emptied regularly to keep mosquitoes from reproducing.