State Officials Raise Awareness About Virus

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A worker places a mosquito trap in a wooded area to collect a sample of mosquitos for testing.
A worker places a mosquito trap in a wooded area to collect a sample of mosquitos for testing.

The summer season is in full force and it is usually a time when outdoor activity increases. Illinois health officials are urging individuals to be careful when they are outdoors during warm weather months. The average mosquito bite can pose danger if the insect is carrying the West Nile virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cites that the West Nile Virus is a flavivirus commonly found in Africa, West Asia, and the Middle East. It is closely related to St. Louis encephalitis virus which is also found in the United States. The virus can infect humans, birds, mosquitoes, horses and some other mammals.

West Nile emerged in the United States in the New York metropolitan area in the fall of 1999. Since then, the virus, which can be transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito, has quickly spread across the country.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Healths (IDPH) website, the WNV was first identified in Illinois in September 2001. Laboratory tests confirmed its presence in two dead crows found in the Chicago area. The following year, the state's first human cases and deaths from West Nile disease were recorded and all but two of the state's 102 counties eventually reported a positive human, bird, mosquito or horse.

The state of Illinois recently reported its first positive West Nile virus test for 2011. The IDPH recently announced the positive test result from a mosquito batch in Delavan, about 25 miles south of Peoria in Tazewell County.

Additionally, last Thursday, Dr. Damon T. Arnold, state public health director, announced that a sample of birds in LaSalle County had also tested positive for West Nile.

Last year's first positive West Nile virus test result was reported June 3 in Gallatin County in southeastern Illinois. Thirty of 102 Illinois counties had a positive West Nile virus bird, mosquito, horse or human case in 2010.

There were 61 human West Nile cases last year in Illinois.

With the temperature heating up, we could see more West Nile virus circulating. In hotter weather we typically see more West Nile virus activity, said Dr. Arnold in a statement. Although most cases of West Nile virus are mild, the virus can cause serious, life-altering and even fatal disease. That is why it is so important to protect yourself against mosquito bites by wearing insect repellent and getting rid of any standing water around your home.

IDPH began monitoring the West Nile virus in Illinois on May 1. The surveillance includes laboratory tests on mosquitoes, dead crows, blue jays, robins and other perching birds as well as the testing of sick horses and humans with West Nile-like disease symptoms.

Only about two people in 10 who are bitten by an infected mosquito will experience any illness.

Most people with the virus have no clinical symptoms of illness, but some may become ill three to 15 days after the bite of an infected mosquito.

Illness from West Nile is usually mild and includes fever, headache and body aches, but serious illness such as encephalitis, meningitis and death are possible.

Persons older than 50 years of age have the highest risk of severe disease.

The CDC cites there is no specific treatment for West Nile. In more severe cases, people usually need to go to the hospital where they can receive supportive treatment including intravenous fluids, help with breathing and nursing care.

Melaney Arnold, IDPH spokesperson said the state provides funding to educate the public about the virus.

The Illinois Department of Public Health provides funding to local health departments every year for surveillance purposes. Many local health departments create their own West Nile virus campaigns for their communities. The Department provides information on its website, which is updated weekly, and gets the word out on the radio and by distributing news releases to the media, she said.

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.

When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and apply insect repellent that includes DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR 3535 according to label instructions. Consult a physician before using repellents on infants.

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.

Eliminate all sources of standing water that can support mosquito breeding, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires and any other receptacles. In communities where there are organized mosquito control programs, contact your municipal government to report areas of stagnant water in roadside ditches, flooded yards and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes.

Additional information about West Nile virus can be found on the Illinois Department of Public Healths Web site at www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/wnv.htm or call the IDPH West Nile virus information hotline at 866-369-9710, Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Thelma Sardin, AP, press releases

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