They itch, hurt and it can give you a deadly disease.
“It can kill people a small percentage of people,” said Charlie Smith, an entomologist who sets traps to catch mosquito's to test for West Nile virus.
Smith became a victim of his own job three years ago testing positive for the disease. “I had a full on fever and I felt nauseous and I was extremely weak but the one symptom that made me believe that I suspected West Nile virus, I had pain straight between my eyes,” said Smith.
The Fresno County Department of Public Health says a 59-year-old man from the Clovis area is the first to test positive with West Nile virus in 2012. The man was hospitalized but has since been released.
“You can have hospitalization, people can get very sick, so it's not worth the risk,” said David Luchini, Health Department.
The Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District says neglected swimming pools are the perfect breeding ground for the mosquito’s that carry the disease
The district flies an aircraft to capture pictures of pools, then geo-reference the pictures to determine where the pool is located and contact the homeowner. “Homeowners have the right and expectation to privacy, however no one has the right to create a public nuances and swimming pools that are neglected and producing mosquito are a public nuances,” said Steve Mulligan, District manager.
Last year in California there were 158 West Nile virus cases in humans and of those, 9 people died.
