Health Advisory: Two Additional West Nile Virus Cases Identified in Lucas County
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Health Advisory: Two Additional West Nile Virus Cases Identified in Lucas County
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Two additional West Nile virus (WNV) cases in Lucas County residents have been identified by the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department (TLCHD), bringing the total number of WNV cases for the 2005 mosquito season to four. One of these individuals is a 29 year old male and the other is a 33 year old female. Both of these cases were diagnosed with encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and had positive laboratory results for WNV infection. Seeing cases this late in the season is not uncommon. Most WNV cases in our region occur during late summer or early fall. TLCHD continues to work closely with its local and state partners, including the Toledo Sanitary District and the Ohio Department of Health, to monitor WNV in our community.
Most people infected with WNV will not have any signs of illness, with only about 20% of the people infected developing symptoms. Of these, most will only develop mild symptoms including fever, headache, and body aches, often with skin rash and swollen lymph glands. A very small number of people (about one in 150 people infected) will actually develop the more severe symptoms of headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. The virus is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito and can affect people, horses, birds and some other animals. People typically develop symptoms between 3 and 14 days after they are bitten by the infected mosquito.
Although mosquito populations are beginning to diminish, WNV infection can still occur during the fall months. The easiest and best way to avoid WNV is to use insect repellent when outdoors, wear long sleeves and light colored clothing, limit outdoor activity during dawn and dusk hours, eliminate standing water around your house, empty water every 2-3 days from pet dishes and bird baths, clean and maintain gutters, and maintain screens around doors and windows. Additional information about WNV can be obtained from the following websites:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm
http://www.co.lucas.oh.us/Health/WestNile_main.asp
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