State Offering Grants for Local Mosquito-Control Programs

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The state Department of Health is again making funding available to help communities across South Dakota with efforts to control mosquitoes and prevent the spread of West Nile virus.

State outbreak response coordinator Susan Gannon says cities, counties and tribes can apply to receive a piece of the $500,000 that the agency has for mosquito-control programs.

Gannon says personal protective measures and local mosquito control programs "are the keys to reducing the risk of West Nile." The state has recorded 2,208 West Nile virus cases since 2002.

The virus is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. Symptoms include fever, nausea, head and muscle aches.

Funding for the applying jurisdiction will be based on its population and number of human West Nile virus cases reported in 2015.

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