🦟 Clearing the Air: What You Need to Know About Mosquitoes and Yellow Fever in Our Community

Peri Deleon
Jul 8
2 min read

Lately, we've heard growing concerns—and unfortunately, some misinformation—circulating about yellow fever and other mosquito-borne illnesses in our area. While public health awareness is always welcome, fear shouldn't be driven by rumors or speculation.

Here’s what you need to know:

📢 Trust the Source

If there’s ever an active public health threat involving mosquitoes in our region, you’ll hear it directly from us—the West Side Mosquito and Vector Control District—or from Kern County Public Health. These are the only official channels for disease surveillance and community alerts related to local mosquito activity.

🔬 Ongoing Disease Surveillance

Our district takes mosquito-borne diseases seriously, and we actively monitor mosquito populations throughout the season. We routinely trap and test mosquito samples for a range of viruses, including:

Aedes-borne diseases: Zika virus, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever.
Culex-borne diseases: West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis, and Western equine encephalitis.

The good news? All test results to date have been negative. That means there is currently no evidence of yellow fever or any other mosquito-borne virus circulating locally.

🧭 What You Can Do

While there’s no cause for alarm, prevention is still a team effort. You can help by:

Dumping standing water around your home (buckets, birdbaths, tires)
Reporting green pools or neglected sources of standing water
Using insect repellent when outdoors
Calling us with any mosquito concerns—we’re here to help

🛑 Don’t Fall for the Buzz

Misinformation spreads faster than mosquitoes in July. Please help your neighbors by referring them to trusted local agencies for accurate information:

West Side Mosquito and Vector Control District Call 661-763-3510 for urgent mosquito information.
Kern County Public Health Call 661-241-3255 for urgent public health concerns.

We’ll continue doing the science. You just keep spreading the facts.