In addition, testing for West Nile virus will be included in the long-established programs in Brazos, Dallas, El Paso, Jefferson, Orange, Lubbock and Wichita counties. Also, city and county health departments, public health regions, military installations, universities and other local mosquito control programs send specimens to the TDH Lab for identification, Rawlings says. Mild infections of mosquito-borne encephalitis may occur with only a headache. More severe infections may include headache, high fever, neck stiffness, disorientation, coma and tremors. With West Nile infections, flu-like symptoms include fever, headache, sore throat, body aches, fatigue often with skin rash and swollen lymph glands.
Dengue fever is characterized by fever, headache, joint pain, muscle aches and rash.
About 82 varieties of the ever-present mosquito are found in Texas. However, only about a dozen transmit serious diseases, says Paul Fournier, supervisor of the TDH Bureau of Laboratories Parasitology-Entomology Branch. These backyard biters are drawn to areas with a ready water supply to reproduce. It takes about one week for a mosquito to go from egg to adult. Longevity of an adult female is about 30 days.