With the West Nile virus present in Alachua County
Staff are struggling to determine how best to control the mosquitoes carrying it. The Alachua County Health Department has seen far higher numbers of culex nigripalpus mosquitoes West Nile's primary carrier this year than in the past five, said health department administrator Paul Myers. With several flocks of sentinel chickens and a horse testing positive for West Nile virus, the county was placed under a mosquito-borne illness advisory on Sept. 27. The virus was discovered in the area on Sept. 20. The county also has found non-human cases of eastern equine encephalitis, which is transmitted to people less than West Nile virus but is more lethal. If virus transmission intensifies or human cases are recorded, the county will be given alert status, Myers said at a Tuesday County Commission meeting. The county health department's surveillance system for mosquito-borne illnesses includes regular testing of sentinel chickens, which are often the first to show the presen