SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Public Health has awarded two-year grants totaling $462,490 to 17 local health departments for surveillance and control of West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases.

“Local health departments will use the money to develop and administer vector surveillance and control programs that will aid in the prevention of diseases caused by container- breeding mosquitoes, including the Culex mosquito, which carries the West Nile virus, and the Asian tiger mosquito, which has been found to carry viruses that can be transmitted to humans,” said Dr. John R. Lumpkin, state public health director.

Surveillance and control efforts will include identification and inspection of sites where tires have been stored or discarded, cleanup of noncommercial tire sites, legal action to force cleanups and sampling of mosquitoes found in tires and other areas for the presence of viruses.

The grant money comes from the Department’s share of the state’s Used Tire Management Fund, which is generated by a $1 per new tire fee, and from the state’s general revenue fund. The awards are for fiscal years 2003 and 2004 and run from Aug. 1, 2002, to June 30, 2004.

The competitive grants are awarded based on several factors, including the presence of the Asian tiger mosquito, large or numerous used tire sites, past cases of mosquito-borne encephalitis, geographic region and population size.

Following is a list of grant recipients and amounts:

• Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, $18,000
• Chicago Department of Public Health, $126,000
• East Side Health District, $48,000
• Effingham County Health Department, $16,090
• Egyptian Health Department, $14,400
• Jackson County Health Department, $18,000
• Jasper County Health Department, $18,000
• Jo Daviess County Health Department, $18,000
• Kankakee County Health Department, $18,000
• LaSalle County Health Department, $18,000
• Madison County Health Department, $18,000
• Marion County Health Department, $8,000
• Peoria City/County Health Department, $20,000
• Southern Seven Health Department, $50,000
• St. Clair County Health Department, $18,000
• Tazewell County Health Department, $18,000
• Winnebago County Health Department, $18,000

In addition, the Evanston Health Department received $2,270 to educate the public on prevention of mosquito-borne diseases.

West Nile virus has been identified in 2002 in birds, mosquitoes and/or horses in 92 of the state’s 102 counties. Human cases of West Nile virus illness have been reported in Chicago and 21 Illinois counties. A complete listing of West Nile virus positives is available on the Department’s Web site at <www.idph.state.il.us>.

The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) has been identified in 26 Illinois counties – Alexander, Cook, Gallatin, Hamilton, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Kankakee, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Massac, Montgomery, Peoria, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, Sangamon, St. Clair, Union, White and Williamson. A persistent and aggressive daytime-biting mosquito, it breeds in containers that hold water, such as tires, cans and yard ornaments.

The Asian tiger mosquito, which arrived in the United States in 1985, apparently in used tires shipped from Asia, has been found to carry viruses, including West Nile virus, that can be transmitted to humans. However, there are no documented cases of the Asian tiger mosquito spreading disease to a human in the continental United States.

Other container-breeding mosquitoes, such as the tree-hole mosquito (Aedes triseriatus) and the northern house mosquito (Culex pipiens), are known to transmit diseases to humans. California (La Crosse) encephalitis is spread by the tree-hole mosquito and West Nile illness and St. Louis encephalitis are transmitted by the Culex or house mosquito.

California, West Nile and St. Louis viruses can cause serious disease, such as encephalitis, which is an inflammation of the lining of the brain. California encephalitis occurs more often in children, while West Nile illness and St. Louis encephalitis are more common among older adults.

Symptoms of the diseases, which usually begin three to 14 days following the bite of an infected mosquito, are similar and range from a slight fever or headache to rapid onset of severe headache, high fever, muscle aches, stiffness in the back of the neck and disorientation.

The tree-hole mosquito is infected with California virus by feeding on infected small mammals or when an infected female mosquito transmits the infection to her offspring. The Culex or house mosquito is infected with West Nile or St. Louis encephalitis virus by feeding on infected birds.

A complete listing of the positive birds, mosquito batches, horses and humans identified so far in Illinois, by county, is available on the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Web site at www.idph.state.il.us. Go to the West Nile virus page and select “2002" under surveillance.