In The News: Department of Environmental and Global Health

As the weather warms up and humidity increases, mosquitoes are hatching in backyards across the country, eager to victimize innocent barbecue-goers and home gardeners everywhere.
As the weather warms up, our creepy-crawly friends tend to find their way indoors. In particular, you may notice ants in the corners or even on the counters of your home, which means you’ll need a solution to get rid of them, stat.

Researchers report record West Nile virus cases in the Southwest as invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitoes continue spreading across Clark County.

As mosquito numbers rise, so does the risk of various diseases.
Many travelers live in fear of bed bugs. The small pests are most commonly found in hotel rooms. However, a couple of years ago, visitors to Paris learned that nearly an entire city can become infested. In Paris, bed bugs were stopped everywhere, from movie theatres to the metro.

Two days of record high temperatures could trigger an early response from Mother Nature.

After fires destroyed multiple neighborhoods across Los Angeles County, many residents looked up to find blue, smoke-free skies this week. The Air Quality Index (AQI) — which measures the concentration of pollutants in the air — seemed to confirm all was well in the L.A. atmosphere, with low numbers that suggested clean, healthy air.

With cooler temperatures here, that means mosquito season is thankfully coming to an end. Following up on a story I covered on Monday when I stopped at UNLV to talk to experts about how bad this past mosquito season was, on Tuesday I wanted to find out what can be done to help fight the problem.

If you have noticed more mosquitoes — or felt their bites — this past summer... You are not alone. Experts said not only did we have more mosquitoes, but we had more cases of West Nile virus when comparing it to previous years.
Mosquito season is here and that means it’s time for us to start being vigilant about protecting ourselves from the pesky pests. While the most common side effect of a mosquito bite is an itchy red bump, mosquitoes can also spread dangerous diseases like West Nile, Lyme disease, Zika, dengue, and more.

The number of confirmed cases of West Nile virus in Clark County has risen again as mosquitoes positive for the virus are found in 44 Southern Nevada zip codes.

UNLV and the Las Vegas Raiders are coming together to create a program focused on empowering middle school girls through flag football. Other groups in the Las Vegas valley are using sports to boost body image and mental well-being. Grit, no fear, and getting the job done on a football field.