DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Standing water from repeated downpours in much of Iowa and Nebraska has created the perfect conditions for an onslaught of mosquitoes, but health officials say disease-carrying ones are not yet out in full force.
Doctor Patricia Quinlisk, medical director for the Iowa Department of Public Health, says mosquitoes that carry diseases like the West Nile Virus enjoy small stagnant puddles of water. The constant rain has actually prevented those conditions.
Still, it has been ideal for nuisance mosquitoes known for their annoying bites. Kenneth Holscher, an entomology professor at Iowa State University, says more of these mosquitoes have been recorded in Iowa compared to this time last year. But it's too early to tell what that could mean.
For now, officials in Iowa and Nebraska recommend people wear insect repellent.
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