West Nile WARNING for MNRF

[AmazonSage]

One case of West Nile in Carver county found only a couple of days ago.  The MNRF grounds lays next to the border of Carver county.  People in the area are advised to use DEET containing repellent.
Please spread the word to other fairgoers; as most of us know the MNRF is a huge mosquito feeding grounds.

[Charlotte Rowan]

Great.... just what we need...

[Muffin]

great......

makes the numerous mosquito bites I already have itch even more... BLAST!!!! 

[Ren Jen]

Isn't that only really dangerous to infants and the elderly? 

I had to look it up. 80% of us that get it will have no symptoms.  20 will get mildly ill, and only 1 in 150 will get really sick. 


http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/wnv_factsheet.htm

[Baron Doune]

More worried about Bees in my mead.

I really don't think I've ever been chewed on by the mosquitoes at farie.  Now at Jabs, the swamp next door..yup.  Been breakfast many a time.

[AmazonSage]

There's been 3 cases of west nile in the last week, one was a teenager under 16.  Any adult with a weakened immune system is also at risk... I've got a higher risk then other adults and I know many other festies that are also at higher risk; so I thought I'd just be nice and warn others.

[Erynn]

Thanks for the heads up AmazonSage!

Must remember not to eat bananas. For some reason after I do, I get bitten more then any other time.

[DeadBishop]

Thanks for the heads up AmazonSage!

Must remember not to eat bananas. For some reason after I do, I get bitten more then any other time.

I've heard that eating bananas makes the skeeters more attracted to you.  I've also heard that garlic has the opposite effect.

[Erynn]

Thanks for the heads up AmazonSage!

Must remember not to eat bananas. For some reason after I do, I get bitten more then any other time.

I've heard that eating bananas makes the skeeters more attracted to you.  I've also heard that garlic has the opposite effect.

Good to know I'm just not a freak! Hehe. I'm the only one in my family that bananas have that affect though. Weird.

*must develop a taste for garlic*

[Charlotte Rowan]

Hmmm, good excuse to frequently visit the garlic booth.

Amazon, it is better to be warned! Even if I'm unlikely to get symptoms, I'd still prefer to do what I can to avoid getting West Nile at all!!

[escherblacksmith]

Just because I can, the garlic and banana deals are both myths (although garlic is still possible if the smell is sufficient to drive people away). 

The only proven effective way is using a repellant with deet or picardin in it.   The more deet the longer it will last on your skin, the less deet, the more often you need to reapply.  One other thing to note, the names of most of these formulas are misleading, Deet isn't a "repellant" it is a masker.  It inhibits and messes with the insect's receptors that tell it that food is nearby.

I like 3M's Ultrathon myself.  Especially under the kilt.

[Goody]

my gpa had first case of west nile in MN back a couple years ago. while visiting in CO my 30 yr old cousin was very sick (west nile) after coming home Grandpa startin getting funny (I drove him to Hospital for the 3rd time in two days with convulsions and 105 temp we kept saying it couldnt be west nile? and they would only consider as last resort) sure enough west nile (they can't actually diagnose it until ur better). Being he was elderly he actually did really well in recuperating but it can leave you with  aftereffects. It is certainly visible that it took many years off his life. In other words I have dealt with it close enough and DO NOT WANT IT!

[groomporter]

Oh and here's what Snopes website has to say about the effectiveness of non-deet containing mosquito repellents.
http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/skeeters.asp

[Ren Jen]

Sorry if I insulted anyone.  I guess I just took it as a fact of life that it's here and it's not going away. Sorry your family members suffered Goody.  I hope they are all fine now. 

[Oldarcher]

I had a little dose of it a couple of years ago. When I woke up with a hundred and two temp that lasted a day, it struck how many dead crows I'd seen on roads up near the cabin the weekend before. Dead crows are a rareity! The locals believe WNV had a lot to do with the grouse population crash of the year before last, in a year it should've skyrocketed.