The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is reporting two more cases of locally-acquired dengue this week, bringing our total in the county to eight.
More local dengue is popping up in LA County. Here’s a look at the treatments being done to curb it
The new cases of the mosquito-borne disease were found in Baldwin Park, bringing the total number in that area to five. Officials only discovered the first case of locally-acquired dengue last month. And until last year, the state never had a local case, making this small outbreak a concern.
To try and halt further spread of dengue — which can cause high fever, vomiting, headaches and other symptoms — the San Gabriel Valley Vector Control District recently sprayed insecticide in El Monte, Baldwin Park and West Covina neighborhoods. LAist rode along on a recent treatment to understand what the process is like.
How crews set up to spray
I met up with a crew from the San Gabriel Valley Vector Control District. On this night, we drove around a neighborhood in El Monte to spray insecticides after a locally-acquired case was found there.
The local catch means there is at least one Aedes mosquito flying around infected with dengue. And it’s likely there are multiple that have the disease given how mosquitoes populate.
At the district’s headquarters in West Covina, the crew prepared a fresh batch of larvicide to try and kill the pesky biters. Stephen Gallegos, a vector control specialist, walked me through the process.
“So we’re going to start…
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