What happened
According to an Aug. 30 city news release, the two positives were confirmed at the following locations:
- Near Oakbrook Park
- Along Panther Creek Parkway, near Northwest Community Park
Ground spraying uses adulticide, a mosquito-specific insecticide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says is harmless to pets and humans when used correctly, to kill adult mosquitoes that could carry the virus, according to Frisco’s Mosquito Surveillance and Response Plan.
This is Oakbrook Park’s second pool positive this month and the first time it will be sprayed, with the first being reported in early August.
Mosquito pools at Oakbrook Park were among the 13 pools that tested positive for West Nile virus in 2022, which was the city’s last wave of positives.
The city tests mosquito pools from May 1-Nov. 15 every year and updates any findings on a public interactive map, which has kept a record of mosquito testing since September 2018.
The takeaway
No human cases of West Nile virus have been confirmed in Frisco this year, according to the release.
The Texas Department of State Health Services recommends residents take precaution against mosquito bites with the following steps:
- Wear: Wear long sleeves and pants outside at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
- Apply: Use insect repellants if outside. Approved repellents contain DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus.
- Remove: Drain standing water that collects in bird baths, French drains, clogged gutters, saucers under potted plants and splash blocks. The mosquitoes that carry the virus can breed in stagnant water.
