How the Covering of a Water Container & Garbage Can Affect Our Health

Fluid deposits are common in garbage.

Many communicable diseases are transmitted by insects such as mosquitoes and flies.

With the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as the West Nile virus combined with changing weather patterns causing mosquitoes and flies to linger longer into the fall, there have been many more reports of mosquito- and insect-borne illnesses. Bacterial infections and viruses are both spread through this process. Covering of water and garbage cans reduces this risk dramatically.

Standing Water

Mosquitos breed in standing water.

Standing and stagnant water is the biggest breeding ground for mosquitoes. When treating for malaria, standing water becomes the first target for cleanup. Mosquito-borne diseases will be exponentially expanded if water is allowed to stand long enough to become a mosquito breeding site. There are often stagnant waters, fluid residue and deposits in garbage cans as well.

West Nile Virus

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) health information site: The most serious symptoms only show up in a few people. One in 150 people who become infected with WNV will develop severe illness. Severe symptoms include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms can last weeks, and neurological effects can become permanent. Milder symptoms are also common.

About 20 percent of people who are infected have these symptoms: fever, headache and body aches, nausea, vomiting. Less common symptoms include swollen lymph glands, and skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. Symptoms last a few days, although healthy people have also become sick for several weeks.

There are often no symptoms in most people. Approximately 80 percent of people infected with WNV will not show any symptoms at all.

Birds and Squirrels

Dead birds can indicate an outbreak of West Nile or another virus or bacterial infection.

According to the CDC birds and squirrels are the primary carriers of West Nile and other viruses. Sick birds and squirrels (and rats) die, and if a mosquito has bitten a bird or rodent, it is now carrying the virus (or bacterial infection). The government warning says if you find a dead bird, (or unusual numbers of rodents) do not touch them. Place them in a container and call the local health department to come and pick them up for testing.

Cover Your Cans

To discover what virus or infections might be rampant in your area, call the local health hotline professionals and ask what bacterial infections and viruses have been most recently and commonly reported. Cover your water and garbage containers. People who collect rainwater often forget mosquitoes breed in standing water, and it does not have to be stagnant, first. Garbage cans are also major breeding and feeding grounds for rodents and insects. Keeping these containers covered is a public health service. Gardeners should maintain their compost systems properly, as well.

Other Risks From Not Covering Cans

Lyme Disease, Scrub Typhus, Rickettsialpox, Relapsing Fever, Western Equine Encephalitis; all of these diseases are either bacterial infections or viruses. Each of them are carried by rodents such as rats, squirrels, rabbits or other animals that commonly come in contact with garbage and standing water (remember the birds? They may be drinking your standing water). The rodent or animal then passes this to an insect such as a tick, mosquito, mite or fly through contact with feces, blood, body or urine.

References

• CDC Gov: West Nile Virus