South Dakota officials are keeping an eye out for the Zika virus this summer. The state’s epidemiologist says residents don’t have to worry about it at home, but should be mindful if they travel to some places.
State Epidemiologist Dr. Lon Kightlinger says the mosquito that carries the Zika virus doesn’t exist in South Dakota. He says officials will trap and test mosquitoes in the southeastern part of the state to make sure. There are efforts to clean up waste tires where water can collect and mosquitoes can breed, and grants to fund local mosquito control programs. Kightlinger says when it comes to preventing the Zika virus, South Dakota’s climate is helpful.
“It’s old man winter that hits South Dakota for about six months out of the year,” Kightlinger says. “That’s what’s going to keep us Zika free of homegrown Zika virus. It’s not like West Nile virus which is also a mosquito borne disease. That’s endemic in South Dakota. But Zika is not and it should not become.”
Kightlinger says illness caused by the Zika virus is not as severe as West Nile.
“West Nile we get a lot of encephalitis, and meningitis,” Kightlinger says. “We’ve had about 700 people that have been hospitalized in South Dakota with West Nile virus. We’ve had 32 deaths in South Dakota over the past 13 years. So West Nile hits us hard. Zika is a milder disease, but it causes bad, bad birth defects.”
Kightlinger says it’s recommended that pregnant women don’t travel to Zika transmission areas. If they do, they should take stringent protection measures while they’re gone and get tested when they return. Because the disease is also sexually transmitted, it’s recommended that men who travel to Zika areas abstain from sex or use protection for eight weeks after returning. He says people can transmit the virus without knowing they’re sick.
He says whether the Zika virus or West Nile, people can take similar personal protection measures: wear repellent, long sleeves and long pants, and have good window screens.