Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sacramento‑Yolo mosquito district briefs Folsom council on West Nile, invasive Aedes and new sterile‑insect pilot
Summary
District staff told the Folsom City Council about local surveillance results, West Nile risks and rising detections of invasive Aedes aegypti. Officials previewed sterile insect technology (SIT) pilots and urged residents to eliminate backyard standing water and sign up for notifications at fightthebite.net.
An annual presentation by the Sacramento‑Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District on May 13 updated the Folsom City Council on local mosquito surveillance, disease risk and control strategies.
Steve Ramos, assistant manager for the district, said mosquito season in the region typically runs from May through October and that recent spring rains increase breeding in small containers, pools and yard debris. He described an integrated mosquito‑management approach that includes public information and outreach, surveillance traps, bird testing (West Nile virus is a bird‑mosquito‑human cycle), biological control using mosquito‑eating fish, ecological management with landowners, and targeted control operations.
Ramos said the district had no West Nile‑positive mosquito samples in the city of Folsom in 2024, although it did collect one West Nile‑positive dead bird. At the state level, 129 confirmed human West Nile cases were reported in 2024; the Centers for Disease Control estimates many more cases go undetected because mild infections are underreported. Ramos highlighted that severe neuroinvasive cases are a fraction of infections and that the disease can have prolonged effects.
The district has detected the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito in parts of Sacramento County, including Folsom, and that species prefers to bite humans and can transmit dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Ramos described sterile insect technology (SIT) as an emerging tool that releases sterilized or Wolbachia‑infected male mosquitoes to reduce local populations; Fresno County’s three‑year pilot saw a reported 95% reduction in Aedes aegypti in the treated area.
The district asked residents to remove standing water from buckets, planters, pools and other containers; report dead birds to the district for testing; and sign up for email notifications at fightthebite.net to receive spray notices and disease alerts. Ramos also said the district conducts community outreach, provides mosquito repellent at events, and can place mosquito‑eating fish in persistent breeding sites.
Council members asked about public notification, testing scope and the district’s SIT pilot plans. Ramos confirmed the district’s notification site (fightthebite.net) and said the district only tests birds for West Nile virus and not for other pathogens (county/state health agencies test for other concerns). The district plans to pilot SIT in higher‑infested areas and continue surveillance and outreach in Folsom.
Ending: The district urged residents to check yards for standing water and sign up for notifications; the district will continue surveillance, use biological controls where feasible and pilot SIT to reduce invasive Aedes populations.
