Volume XIX, Number 33

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Page One News at a Glance

West Nile Virus headed our way

Proposed sewer and water rate hike raises concerns

Farmers bank gives boost to Florence playground project

Teacher to kiss a pig for Hideout Mountain

West Nile Virus headed our way

By Michael Howell

Rocky Mountain Laboratory hosted a symposium concerning the West Nile Virus in Hamilton last week. Governor Judy Martz made the opening remarks followed by experts from around the state and the country who presented information aimed at helping locals prepare for the expected invasion of the disease as it spills over the Continental Divide in its relentless westward migration across the state.

Although scientists are not working actively on the subject at the local lab, its parent agency, the National Institutes for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is monitoring the development of the disease as it moves across the country and working on possible treatments for humans.

Dr. Tom Kindt, who is in charge of research programs at NIAID, including research on the West Nile Virus, gave a brief history of the disease. It was first identified in 1937 in Uganda, East Africa. There were only minor outbreaks over the next 60 years. In the 1960s, significant outbreaks were recorded in Egypt and France and in the 1990s, larger outbreaks began to occur. The first case identified in the United States was in New York in 1999. It was determined to be a virus similar to the one that appeared in Israel in 1997 to 1999.

During the first year of infection on the East Coast, 62 humans were confirmed to have the infection. Seven of them died. Twenty-five horses were confirmed to have the disease and hundreds of birds. The next year the number of human cases dropped to 21 and the deaths to 2. But in 2001 the number of cases jumped back to 66 with 9 associated deaths. Then in 2002 a whopping 4,156 cases of human infection with symptoms occurred with 284 fatalities. The disease covered even more ground in 2003 and about 9,122 people were infected resulting in 223 deaths. Four of those deaths occurred in Montana. The disease has now been identified in every state of the union except Maine, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.

The disease was first detected in Montana in 2002 when two cases of human infection were confirmed, first in Rosebud County and then in Yellowstone County.

According to Jim Murphy, a health specialist with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services who tracks the disease statewide, about 80 percent of the people infected with West Nile Virus will show no symptoms of the disease. Of the 20 percent of the people exposed that get ill, most will only show mild symptoms and recover in a few days. But for 1 in every 150 people infected, the symptoms will be very severe including neurological damage and even paralysis. Some people take years to recover. Some never do. About 1 in 1,000 will die.

Many animals are susceptible to the virus, according to Montana State Veterinarian Tom Linfield. Dogs can get it. So can sheep, reindeer, mountain goats, squirrels, wolves, bears and white tail deer, to name a few. An alligator has even become infected, perhaps by eating an infected animal.

But horses are especially sensitive, it seems, to mosquito borne, encephalitis type diseases. Fortunately, however, a few very effective vaccines have been developed for horses, unlike for humans, presenting a chance for horse lovers to protect their animals. The protection is not 100 percent, though. Four horses that were vaccinated became ill from the disease in 2002. A total of 134 horses became ill across the state. Of those, 96 survived, 12 died and 26 were euthanized. In 2003, 123 infected horses were documented, 22 died and 48 were euthanized.

While humans and horses may become infected, they are called "dead-end hosts" because the virus cannot reach levels in the blood to make them highly infectious hosts to other mammals. All experts are in agreement, however, that birds play a major role in the amplification and spread of the disease, serving as a true reservoir for amplification and transmission of the virus. Linfield believes that geese and ducks may be major players in the spread of the epidemic.

However, it has been discovered that humans can transmit the disease to some degree. In rare cases it has been transmitted from human to human through blood transfusions, tissue transplants, cross-placental transmission to fetuses, breast feeding and transmission through exposure to blood.

According to Dr. Greg Johnson, the Department head and Professor of Entomology at Montana State University, not all mosquitoes are the bad guys. Of the 165 different mosquito species found in North America, only 45 to 50 are found in Montana. And of the species known to be very good vectors for transmitting the disease, only two are found in the state.

Johnson said that mosquitoes fall into two basic categories, the flood water mosquitoes and the pool/container mosquitoes.

Floodwater mosquitoes lay eggs in pre-flood areas over the summer. These eggs may lay dormant for years and still hatch following a flood. These types of mosquitoes over winter in the egg form. They are most prevalent in the spring and early summer when they hatch.

Pool/container mosquitoes over winter as adults and deposit eggs on standing water in the spring and summer. They are most prevalent in the middle to late summer. They feed mostly on birds in the early summer and switch to mammals later in the year. The only two species in the state adapted to easily transmit the disease are of the pool/container type.

As a result most infections in humans occur in mid to late August and later in the summer.

One interesting fact discovered in monitoring mosquitoes in the state is that the numbers trapped in a single night near Glasgow ranged from 583 in spring to 9,300 on one August night, while in Hamilton from just a few in spring to a high of 32 on one night in August. Scientists have no answer for why mosquito populations are comparatively so low here.

No one at the symposium was willing to make any firm predictions as to what will happen in western Montana this summer. But all the maps tracking the spread of the disease show a continual westward expansion. The spread seems to be following routes along the major waterways. In this respect, the Continental Divide represents a logical barrier. But there is no question that the barrier has been jumped. The only question will be how severe the infection rate will become on the west side of the Divide.

So, what do we do?

For one thing we can vaccinate our horses. Since the mosquito most likely to transmit the virus over winters as an adult, infections can occur any time of the year, although the major season will be in mid to late August when those mosquito populations peak. It takes two doses of the vaccine, administered three to six weeks apart, to provide initial immunity. Effective immunity is not achieved until three to four weeks following the second dose. An annual booster is then required three to four weeks prior to the mosquito season.

Since there is no vaccine for humans at this time, the best prevention is to reduce the chance of exposure by wearing appropriate clothing, limiting your exposure during high mosquito activity times at dawn and dusk, and using a mosquito repellent. It is also advised to try and reduce the environment conducive to mosquito breeding and thus reduce the local population. Mosquitoes have been tracked up to 7 to 10 miles from their hatch sites. But the ones most likely to transmit the disease don't even travel that far most of the time, usually not more than two miles. So removing any standing water around your home can have a beneficial effect.

Experts advise removing any standing water in such things as old tires, bird baths, planters, and rain gutters, ditches, wheelbarrows, hollow trees and wading pools. Mosquitoes can breed in any puddle that lasts more than four days.

However, before you run out to the back forty and start burying or draining any wetlands found in your pasture, take note that it is not a recommended procedure for mosquito control.

According to Lynda Saul, Wetland Coordinator for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, "Draining or filling wetlands is not a viable measure for controlling mosquitoes or West Nile Virus."

Most wetlands are considered "waters of the United States" and are protected under the Clean Water Act. Such action may require a federal permit and may be subject to the act.

Montana is a relatively dry state and only 1 percent of the land is estimated to be wetlands. Wetlands have many beneficial values. They are important to flood control, for filtering and cleaning water of pollutants, to recharging ground water supplies, for forage for livestock and wildlife, prime habitat for many plant and animal species, as well as providing many recreational opportunities.

For all these reasons wetlands have been recognized as important features of the environment. Even the mosquitoes that they support are an important part of the food chain. Many fish and other animals depend upon them for food. In a natural and healthy wetland the predators keep the mosquito populations within bounds. It is mainly in impaired or dysfunctional wetlands that mosquitoes can become a real problem.

As a result, federal, state, tribal and local governments, consultants, non-profit organizations and private citizens are all working hard on wetland protection and stewardship in Montana. A national "no net loss" of wetlands policy guides many of these actions.

For this reason the Bitterroot Conservation District, which governs activity in streambeds within the county, has been reluctant to issue 310 permits for several pending applications to do wetland mitigation measures aimed at reducing the threat of West Nile Virus by filling in areas of the river bottom that collect standing water during the summer. The District, which placed several applications along the Bitterroot River on hold while it considered the matter, recently advised the applicants to get a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers before any 310 Permits will be issued.

At the same time a lawsuit is currently making its way through District Court in Ravalli County in which a local landowner, Jerry Metully, has filed suit against Ken Siebel, owner of the Bitterroot Springs Ranch, for creating mosquito habitat next to his home along Mitchell Slough. Judge James Haynes has issued a preliminary injunction against Siebel ordering him to eliminate the pools of standing water that he created next to Metully's home. Haynes refused to address Metully's concerns about the West Nile Virus, but did rule in Metully's favor that a nuisance had been created that needed to be removed.

Metully said that he is still concerned about the possibility of West Nile Virus. He said that he is glad that the judge has ordered the situation to be remedied and hopes that the required work will be done before the next mosquito season begins. Metully said that he can appreciate the beneficial aspects of natural wetlands and their incident mosquito populations but that he did not appreciate his neighbor creating a mosquito breeding ground next to his home.

Proposed sewer and water rate hike raises concerns

By Michael Howell

A proposed hike in sewer and water rates in the Town of Stevensville has raised concerns for some city residents. Town officials invited Harry Whalen of Rural Water to address those concerns at an informational meeting before the regularly scheduled council meeting last Monday.

The town indebted itself three years ago to do a major upgrade of its sewer treatment plant. Sewer and water rates were raised at the time to help pay for the upgrades. Now the Town is seeking another rate hike and some users are wondering why?

Whalen was apologetic about the situation. He said that he realized a few years ago that the original estimates concerning the rate hikes necessary to pay for the new system needed to be adjusted upward but he failed to act. From the figures disseminated at the meeting, it appears that the operational and maintenance costs were seriously underestimated in the beginning. While administrative costs were overestimated by close to $20,000, operational and maintenance costs of close to $84,500 were completely overlooked.

As a result, significant hikes in water and sewer fees are now necessary, according to Whalen. With a total base cost of $181,000 annually, the fees for water and sewer for the majority of users, those on a three quarter inch line, will go up $6.49 a month, $19.47 a quarter, or $77.88 for the year. This would raise the annual sewer and water fees for the average user from $343.20 to $421.08 annually. For the four major users in the town annual costs of water and sewer would go from $2,436.84 to $3006.48 annually.

"We were definitely off in our estimates," said Whalen, "but we have to increase these rates now so that we don't keep sliding backwards."

Town Clerk Nancy Lowell said that increased utility rates and the cost of insurance premiums were also a factor in having to raise rates.

With turbidity laws due to change in 2005 requiring less turbidity in city water systems, the town's surface water system, located up the Burnt Fork, will also require some significant upgrades in the near future. Town officials hope that the grants available to do the upgrade will also pay for installing water meters on all the Town's customers. Currently only half the Town's water users are metered. Once the Town is fully metered it can change the way fees are charged so that each customer is only charged for what they use. In the meantime the Town uses a standard estimation of the average use by the size of the line provided.

Farmers bank gives boost to Florence playground project

By Michael Howell

Hideout Mountain, the 8,000-square-foot playground scheduled for construction in Florence Community Park June 9-13, is $5,000 closer to fundraising goals this week thanks to a donation from Farmers State Bank.

The playground will be "a nice addition to the community and something that people from all over the Bitterroot will enjoy," said Dawn Hornaday, Branch Manager for Farmers State Bank in Florence. "There are people in every single branch that will use it."

Playground organizers also received good news this week in the form of a $1,500 grant from the Montana State Fund. "These donations come at an important time for Hideout Mountain," said Christy Parrott, who is helping coordinate fundraising efforts for the playground. "Although we've been pleased with community support and enthusiasm for this project, we're nearing a fundraising deadline and we have a lot of money to raise in the next six weeks if we want to build in June."

The total cost for the playground, which will be constructed entirely by volunteers, is estimated at $125,000. Cash contributions so far total around $20,000, with thousands more being donated in the form of hardware, lumber, landscaping, and printing and supplies.

Playground volunteers are happy to see donations coming not only from throughout the Bitterroot but also from Missoula, said Parrott. "It shows that business owners recognize how connected these communities are." All individuals and businesses donating $100 or more in cash or materials will be recognized on the playground website and a permanent contributor's board at the finished playground.

Donations for Hideout Mountain are being accepted at Farmers State Bank branches throughout the Bitterroot Valley. For more information about donating or volunteering, visit the playground website at www.hideoutmountain.com or call the project's Volunteer Coordinator, Carrie Schaff, at 273-4348.

Teacher to kiss a pig for Hideout Mountain

By Michael Howell

Oscar the Pig will claim the spotlight 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 11 when a Florence teacher plants a kiss on his snout as part of a Florence-Carlton Elementary fundraising contest to benefit Hideout Mountain.

Students have been competing since February 9 in a "Kiss the Pig" contest to see which class could raise the most money for the 8,000-square-foot playground, which is scheduled for construction in Florence Community Park this June. Together, the participating classes raised a total of $360 in less than three weeks, and the winning class will be announced at Thursday's assembly. Oscar will be standing by to reward the winning teacher.

Oscar reportedly practices good hygiene and has experience kissing school staff after a Lolo principal lost a reading challenge last year. However, the winning Florence teacher will also be rewarded by a dinner for two donated by Outback Steak House.

Elementary students have been motivated not only by the chance to see their teacher kiss a pig, but also a chance to win a party with a 6-foot-long submarine sandwich donated by Florence Subway. Many have offered to kiss Oscar themselves in their teachers' stead.

The "Kiss the Pig" assembly is open to the public and will be held outside in the Florence-Carlton school pavilion if weather permits.

Hideout Mountain, designed by the same architects who helped create Dragon Hollow in Missoula, will be built entirely with donated funds and volunteer labor. Total cost for construction is estimated at $125,000. For more information about the playground project, visit the playground website at www.hideoutmountain.com or call the project's Volunteer Coordinator, Carrie Schaff, at 273-4348.