west nile virus

[nurse metal]

Anyone else worried, I just heard on cnn that 4 cases of west-nile (spelling??) were confirmed in florida? We have 26 days to go and I am a bit worried (BETWEEN THE VIRUS AND THE SHARK BITES) our trip includes WDW and a night at treasure island and a stay at cocoa beach
any thoughts??? this is our very first trip and were taking our kids ages 4 and 8. I am getting so nervous Lisa

 

[luvthatdisney]

Check out my post on the Disney Tips Board called Mosquito Magic, might help!

 

[honeymom]

I have found that mosquitos have an active time of day (between about 4P and 8P). Do as much as you can inside at that time of day, keep mosquito repellant with you (the only ones that work well do have a certain amount of DEET in them, but you can use one with a low quantity of DEET that is rated for kids on children and adults). Also, if it isn't too hot, try to wear lightweight long sleeves and pants during that time of day.

Disney is probably pretty good with putting larvacide in their ponds, etc.

I live in Connecticut. We have a lot of wetlands and hence a lot of mosquitos in the area. But, we haven't gotten too many bites this summer or last by taking these precautions. Also, I really don't believe that one bite will do it. So few people get this disease in a deadly form that I think a lot of biting, or a prolonged bite by infected mosquitos would be more likely to cause it than an occasional mosquito bite.

 

[skeezixspud]

They are scrupulous about keeping down the mosquito population, and once or twice I've seen fogging trucks out very early in the morning. Stay away from agricultural areas and real wetlands, and you probably won't have much trouble.

 

[ElEd]

although i did get stung by a bee on my honeymoon at DXL

 

[Dave A]

No one in Orange Or Osceola counties (where WDW is) has contracted the disease, or been bitten by sharks. The areas of concern (for West-Nile) are in the panhandle region of north FL.
We were walking around the swampy Alligator Bayou section of Port Orleans Riverside last month (we got off at the wrong bus stop( and found no mosquitoes, only croaking of frogs.
Dave