Current Information

COVID-19

For local Coronavirus information, including case counts please go to our COVID-19 page HERE.

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For State information please go to coronavirus.utah.gov

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For the State Coronavirus hotline, please call 1-800-456-7707

Job

Openings

Currently no job openings

Mosquitoes

West Nile Virus Positive

For Immediate Release

September 8, 2020

Grand County, UT

West Nile virus has been found in a mosquito trap near the North end of Moab. Please take extra precautions while outdoors by using mosquito repellent, wearing long sleeves and pants, and making sure to have good window screens or use a screened tent if sleeping outside. 

If a person is infected by West Nile virus, the risk of serious disease is low. Most of those affected will have a mild to severe flu-like illness with muscle aches, fever, rash, and headache that usually lasts a few days but can last months. Less than one in a hundred will get meningitis or encephalitis. Those at greatest risk of serious disease are those with weakened immune systems, diabetes, high blood pressure, or kidney disease. The elderly are at greatest risk for severe complications. 

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Prevention

Although not all mosquitoes carry disease, people should avoid mosquito bites by wearing long sleeves and long pants that are brightly colored. Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents with one of the following active ingredients DEET: Picaridin (known as KBR 3023 and Icaridin outside the US), IR3535, Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), Para-menthane-diol (PMD), 2-undecanone. When used as directed, EPA-registered insect repellents are proven safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women. It is especially important to prevent mosquito bites by having good window screens or by using a screened tent if sleeping outside. Additionally, drain all the standing water around your property, keep roof gutters clear of debris, ensure that all door and window screens are in good repair, and keep weeds and grass cut short.

Algal

Blooms

About Algal Blooms

Harmful algal blooms occur when normally occurring cyanobacteria in the water multiply quickly to form visible colonies or blooms. These blooms sometimes produce potent cyanotoxins that pose serious health risks to humans and animals.

Although most algal blooms are not toxic, some types of cyanobacteria produce nerve or liver toxins. Toxicity is hard to predict in part because a single species of algae can have both toxic and non-toxic strains, and a bloom that tests non-toxic one day can be toxic the next.

Note: The HABs monitoring season ended on October 31, 2019. Warning Advisories are being removed from waterbodies. The Utah Department of Health and local health departments have determined that the health risk from HABs from primary contact recreation drops with the onset of colder temperatures.

The close of the monitoring season and removal of advisories doesn’t mean HABs are no longer present. HABs can persist throughout the fall and winter and can pose a potential threat to humans and pets. It’s important to recognize the signs of a bloom and take appropriate precautions. Recreators are advised to stay out of the water and avoid any contact with water or scum if they suspect a harmful algal bloom. Hunters and fishers should clean waterfowl and fish well and discard all guts.

Carbon

County

Carbon County Sheriffs Office

Address:

240 W. Main St.

Price, UT 84501

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Phone:

435-636-3251

Emery

County

Emery County Sheriffs Office

Address:

1850 N. 550 W.

Castle Dale, UT 84513

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Phone:

435-381-2404

Grand

County

Grand County Sheriffs Office

Address:

25 S. 100 E.

Moab, UT 84532

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Phone:

435-259-8115