Health experts warn more mosquitoes in standing water after recent major rainfall and flooding. Stephanie Magallon reports.
As we just hit spring, experts say mosquitoes are already multiplying, taking advantage of all the recent flooding.
In Belmont, families can still see and smell the flood waters that have been inundating them all year.
The conditions and all the standing water found around the bay area are a concern for The San Mateo County Vector Control Department who said, they’ve had more mosquito related requests than usual in the past few months.
In a statement. they wrote they anticipate water will continue to stand in many locations into the warmer month, so their acting now, regularly checking 40,000 sites throughout the county to prevent a large mosquito population and the viruses that come with them.
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The county added they’re also working closely with communities prone to flooding by checking their crawlspaces something they recommend all families should do in case of any standing water.
Alameda County already detected the first mosquito with the West Nile Virus, a usual case for this time of year.
But there's an even bigger concern for these families and health experts, which is humidity.
“The dirty it all comes to our area. So, just the outside to keep it clean and all the disinfecting we need to do,” said Belmont resident Gabriel Ortiz.
UCSF infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Chin Hong said the contaminated waters can cause norovirus and salmonella.
“Of course, there's well known mental health consequences after tremendous flooding and stress that people have,” he said.
Experts recommend watching for mold–staying away from flood water and to call vector control, if you see more mosquitoes than usual around your home or standing water.
