GREAT OUTDOORS: Heavy Ohio rains lead to more mosquitoes

Whenever we go outside, we risk being attacked by the world's most deadly animal. It's not a venomous snake, alligator, rabid bat, cougar, bear or wolf. Instead, it is a smaller and less noticeable but much more common threat: disease-carrying mosquitoes. With the buckets of rain that have fallen this summer, a friend who lives along Crane Creek calls this the worst summer ever for mosquito densities. He recently counted 17 itchy, mosquito bite welts on one leg that he earned while thinning brush at his place. He has taken to wearing a bug suit when he takes his dogs on their daily walks at a nearby park. Luckily for us, malaria, the most common deadly mosquito-spread disease that claims 700,000 to 1 million lives annually worldwide is not present in this area of North America. Some cases were documented in 2023 in Florida, Maryland, Arkansas and Texas, but the sources were eradicated. However, it was formerly endemic in the Grand Kankakee Marsh on the southern edge of Lake Michigan in Indiana and Illinois and here in the Great Black Swamp. Early settlers to these regions called the fever and uncontrollable shaking that they repeatedly suffered from "ague." They blamed it on the foul "swamp gasses" produced from decaying vegetation in the stagnant pools of water instead of the malaria being transmitted by massive swarms of mosquitos. In both cases, the side effect of draining these wetlands for agricultural use was the reduction in the mosquito populations and the local eradication of this strain of malaria. New mosquito species and diseases brought into the country by travel and trade require the attention of those with medical conditions that make them vulnerable to poor outcomes. Locally, some mosquitoes are infected with the potentially deadly West Nile Virus (WNV). It now represents 80% of the mosquito-borne human infections in the U.S. annually. While 80% of people will suffer no little or no effects after being bitten by a female Culex mosquito, the other 20% will develop symptoms that can include fever, headache, body aches, joint pain, rash, vomiting, diarrhea or worse. In about 1 out of 150 cases, people develop central nervous system problems, including brain swelling (encephalitis), that can lead to fatal outcomes. People at higher risk of dying from it include older males, those with advanced kidney disease, on immunity-suppressant medicines after a whole organ transplant, or having high blood pressure, MS, cancer or diabetes. I have six out of eight on this list. West Nile Virus is commonly known for killing millions of birds in North America since it was first detected in New York City in 1999. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, members of the crow and jay family are particularly vulnerable to dying from the disease. Bird carcasses serve as a warning that WNV is in the area. Ruffed grouse, a prized game bird species in Ohio's hill country that was already in decline due to habitat loss, suffers 80% mortality rates from WNV infections, according to multiple state wildlife agencies. Bald eagles, hawks and owls found floundering on the ground with WNV are treated each year at animal rehabilitation centers. Yellow fever is occasionally seen in Florida and Texas and travelers returning from areas of the world annually where it or Zika virus is present. Preventative measures such as avoiding peak low-light feeding times, applying repellent, wearing light-colored, loose-fitting clothes and dumping standing water all lower the odds of being bitten with a disease-carrying mosquito.