While Powell has been combating mosquitoes for years, starting next year Park County as a whole will be under surveillance to determine if the culex mosquitoes known to be in the area are carrying West Nile virus. 

The Park County Public Health Officer and Park County Weed and Pest, with support from City of Powell Sanitation Superintendent Allen Griffin, are set to begin a surveillance program next summer with the aim of trapping large enough samples of mosquitoes across the county to see where there are issues of concern, if any. 

Public Health Officer Dr. Aaron Billin told Park County commissioners Tuesday he was spurred to embark on this program — he’s volunteered to manage the traps the first summer — because this was the first year that there were two confirmed deaths from West Nile in Wyoming. 

“I do not believe there has ever been a year in Wyoming where two people have died of West Nile virus,” Billin said. “And I think this represents a significant escalation in the cases of West Nile virus.”

While it hasn’t been documented in mosquitoes in the county — Griffin said the eight samples Powell has sent in over the last two years from its trap in a backyard near Southside Park have all come back negative — Billin said he’s heard of more than 10 horses infected with it in Clark alone, leading him to predict it’ll be found in mosquitoes if there are more samples taken. 

And as they say, knowing is half the battle. Billin said if medical professionals know there is West Nile Virus prevalent amongst mosquitoes in the county, then if someone comes in presenting the symptoms, which in the early stage of flu, they’ll be more likely to test relatively quickly for West Nile. 

Commissioner Kelly Simone, a physician assistant at PVHC, said she experienced that in the professional field where it took awhile to correctly diagnose an issue as the virus wasn’t thought to be spreading in the area. 

“We see patients all the time that come in with viral type presentations, and maybe you don’t think, ‘oh, I need to test this patient for West Nile Virus,’ because it’s not reported in your county,” Simone said, adding, “I think it might help guide too. Because I think the one case that I’m aware of, it took a long time to get to the diagnosis of West Nile virus that was in our county.”

Griffin said the yearly cost for the program in Powell ranges from $20,000-$35,000 per year depending on how often they spray. The past couple of years it’s been four times per year, in addition to the trapping and identification. The countywide program will only consist of trapping and identification, as only culex mosquitoes are tested.

The state lab then tests mosquitoes for the virus for free. 

Park County Weed and Pest Director Josh Shorb said his agency will apply for a grant to fund the first year of the program and said he may be coming back to commissioners for a letter of support.

Billin said while the group wasn’t asking the county for anything more than support at this point, he said to keep the program going in future years will require more funds and manpower, as Weed and Pest has, like the county, had to deal with lower revenues this budget cycle. 

“What I don’t have is manpower,” Shorb said. “And we reduced our seasonal crew from 12 people to eight next year. So I do not have manpower to do this. So thankfully, we have a volunteer to do this next year.”

Billin said the first step, to confirm there is indeed West Nile Virus present amongst culex mosquitoes in Park County — not to mention being able to identify exactly what area of the county — is crucial in being able to combat any future spread of the disease which, in its more rare but serious form, leads to death in roughly 10% of cases. 

“We want to be ahead of the game, ahead of the curve, rather than behind it, because it’d be very easy to be chasing this from behind,” Billin said, adding, “There is an added weight to recommendations when you can say to the public, ‘we know it’s here.’ We’ve had three cases this summer, and experience has shown that people then start to pay attention to your recommendations.”