CHICAGO -- As the weather warms and our thoughts turn to summertime activities, area health departments are issuing reminders that summer is also the season for West Nile virus.
“Now is the time to start thinking about how we can prevent West Nile virus this
summer," Kane County Health Department Executive Director Paul Kuehnert said. "I would encourage residents to inspect their property to locate and eliminate sources of standing water that could support mosquito breeding. Such areas would include clogged roof gutters, old tires and any other receptacles."
The recent wet, spring weather is likely to spawn plenty of floodwater mosquitoes, which have already begun to live up to their nickname of “nuisance” mosquitoes, the Kane County Health Department reports. However, floodwater, or nuisance, mosquitoes are not carriers of West Nile virus. The Culex, or “house” mosquito, the species most commonly associated with the disease, needs hot weather to breed. This is why the first cases of West Nile are usually seen in July or August.
As in years past, the health departments will begin the season by setting mosquito traps that will be used to monitor the presence of the disease in communities throughout the county. Monitoring mosquito batches and the bird population is crucial in tracking the virus.
This year, the Kane County Health Department will be adding six new traps, for a total 20. Lake County is operating 12 mosquito monitoring sites and reviewing data from 25 other sites throughout the county to identify “hot spots” for the mosquito that carries West Nile. The Department is also distributing a limited number of larvicides to municipalities and townships.
In Lake County, the health department has re-activated the West Nile virus hotline for county residents to report dead birds, report areas of stagnant water, or to obtain more information on the signs and symptoms of West Nile encephalitis. The Lake County West Nile virus hotline number is: (847) 377-8300.
Last year, Kane County saw 13 human cases of West Nile virus. In 2006 there were four, 17 in 2005, two in 2004, none in 2003 and nine in 2002. Four human cases of the disease were reported in Lake County last year, according to the Lake County Health Department.
West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. Most people with the virus have no clinical symptoms of illness, but some may become ill three to 14 days after the bite of an infected mosquito.
Only about two persons out of 10 who are bitten by an infected mosquito will experience any illness. Illness from West Nile is usually mild and includes fever, headache and bodyaches, but serious illness, such as encephalitis and meningitis, and death are possible. Persons older than 50 years of age have the highest risk of severe disease.
The best way to prevent West Nile disease or any other mosquito-borne illness is to reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home and to take personal precautions to avoid mosquito bites. Precautions include: • Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are most active, especially between dusk and dawn. Use prevention methods whenever mosquitoes are present. • When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and apply insect repellent that includes DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus according to label instructions. • Make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut, especially at night. • Change water in bird baths weekly. Properly maintain wading pools and stock
ornamental ponds with fish.
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