West Nile virus is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes and is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the United States.
Kent County Health Department Environmental Health Director Sara Simmonds says this year had the right weather patterns for West Nile-carrying mosquitoes.
“The mosquito is it called the Culex mosquito. Their habitat and their breeding patterns require hot dry summers. We have had a very hot dry summer and so we had expected that we would have a higher a higher presence of a virus in our community because the conditions were right for the mosquito to thrive.”
Most infected people show no symptoms. One in five develops flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches or rash.
One in 150 develops severe illness affecting the central nervous system which can be fatal.
There is no vaccine or treatment for West Nile virus. The best protection is to avoid mosquito bites by using insect repellent with DEET, limiting skin exposure with long sleeves and pants, and emptying standing water in bird baths, wading pools, pet bowls and house gutters. Kent County’s Communicable Disease Program Supervisor Cathy Armstrong encourages people to be proactive, not fearful.
“It's important to still enjoy life outside but take the precautions because preventing mosquito bites is going to be the number one way to not have to worry about long-term effects of this.”
Kent County’s Mosquito Surveillance Team will continue to test for diseases through late September—when mosquito populations tend to decline significantly.
To learn more about mosquitoes and the diseases they carry, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
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