Mattingly and Florentino have been tasked by the Town Council to develop a plan to deal with the expected occurrence of the mosquito-borne disease, and to implement that plan Town-wide.

“We’re taking a ‘hope for the best, but prepare for the worst’ scenario, since we don’t know how we will be affected in this area,” said Mattingly. Last year, at the height of the local outbreak, incidences of the disease were detected in local citizens relatively late in the season.

Chief Florentino says we may not be as fortunate this year. “We could see anything from a serious situation to a non-existent situation, but health officials tell us that once the local population of mosquitoes is infected, the chances of an outbreak increase,” he said.

This year, the Town will be using the “who, when, where” approach, and continuing to strongly emphasize the effectiveness of the four Ds method of prevention.

The “who” refers to the offices to call when dealing with West Nile Virus, including the Town’s Health Service Officer at 972-731-3276, Emergency Management at 214-975-0420 or the Public Works Department at 972-377-5556.

The “when” includes an April to October schedule of applying larvicide to drainage culverts and other storm water-retaining infrastructure as well as constant surveillance and monitoring. And starting in May, ensuring a flow of information regarding confirmed cases in Little Elm is shared with the residents.

The “where” refers to the locations that larvidice dunk pellets will be available for distribution. These locations include the Customer Service Office on the second floor of Town Hall, the Public Works Center at 1600 Mark Tree Lane and the Little Elm Recreation Center, 303 Main St.

Mattingly also reminds residents that information on the Town’s response to West Nile Virus is available on the Town web site www.littleelm.org in the Citizens Knowledge Base tab. From there, residents should click on Health Services and select West Nile/Mosquito.

“Of course,” adds Chief Florentino, “exercising the four Ds of prevention is the best way to lessen one’s exposure to the mosquitos, and thus to the disease.”

The four Ds represent 1) Dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are most active, 2) Dress in ways that keep exposed skin at a minimum, 3) Drain all standing water and overturn receptacles, and 4) DEET-based insecticides are best when combatting pests.
“It’s not too early to begin developing a personal game plan against the disease. While it is not usually fatal, in its extreme cases, it can be very debilitating,” concluded the Chief.

ABOUT LITTLE ELM – Little Elm is one of the state’s fastest growing communities. Nestled on the shores of Lake Lewisville, the Town was incorporated in 1966, adopting the Council/Manager form of government. The population increased dramatically over the last several years, growing from under 4,000 in 2000 to over 30,000 today. Little Elm’s population exceeds the state average in education and income, and is increasingly trending younger and technologically proficient. The Town’s footprint is just over 14 square miles and boasts some 66 linear miles of shoreline within its boundaries.