[Winona Online Democracy] Thanks Anne. I was reading all the postings tonight and was going to comment about the "LaCrosse encephalitis" which the mosquito does harbor and transmit to humans. So here is my take on this issue. In my early nursing career in Winona County, physicians in LaCrosse and our own Winona Clinic, Dr. Curtis Johnson did the human research to determine how we get the virus from the mosquito. Many Winonans volunteered their blood samples and we found over 60% of us had had a mild case of this virus. Yes, the mosquito bite might have been hardly felt, but our corner of the world is unique to this virus. Further, humans who are bite by the mosquito bearing the LaCrosse encephalitis are the "final host". We can not transmit it to others.
Most Winona County residents have been bitten by these mosquitoes, have a mild illness and develop immunity. However for small children it can cause high fevers which may produce development delays. We have even documented childhood deaths. Thus over 25 years ago, the education of the community began, especially to parents and children through classrooms and PTA. This local public health education continues every year. In the Spring it is important to do "tire clean-up" as well as use a mosquito repellant on our children until Winter. One of the reasons for the Winona County tire recycling program is to reduce this dangerous childhood disease by removing the habitat....tires. Now for those who might say "well then burn the tires"....we need to do the research again. We need to know what disease potential we might create. The Winona County Board recently supported the Environment Impact Study (EIS) to be sure that the "burning of tires" would not be harmful to humans. We do need to do the public health research just like was done over 30 years ago on the local mosquito. That research did find a disease vector which is harmful to humans. To date, we have not been able to eliminate the mosquito, and I am sure we can not eliminate all tires. However, we know the best practice is to not leave tires out to become mosquito habitat. We also know can "recycle" tires into new products that do not have "human disease" effects. Thus it seems prudent to continue tire recycling rather than creating a potential air pollutant by tire burning which has not been researched for its effects on human health. As an aside, it should be noted that the "coal burning electrical plant" in Alma Wisconsin ...just up river...was required to put in state of the art smoke stacks to reduce air pollution. The former smoke stacks had emitted products that blew into the bluffs and no green plants could grow on those bluffs. Today the lush natural vegetation has returned. Lynn Theurer, Winona County Community Health (To the moderator...sorry if too many words) _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
