Several local health departments durante the U.S. warned residents this week that officials have detected mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus durante states across the country.
Per mezzo di New York, Suffolk County announced Monday that 16 samples have tested positive for the virus, which can sometimes be life-threatening, bringing the total number of samples testing positive for the virus so far this season to 32. Per mezzo di New Jersey, Cape May County health officials said Monday that they’ve detected seven positive West Nile virus collections during the months of June and July. Denton County Public Health (DCPH) durante Texas also said Monday that five traps durante unincorporated Denton County tested positive for West Nile virus, adding that the areas would be fogged three times over the following days.
The next day, DCPH reported the first 2024 human case of West Nile virus durante the county; that patient was diagnosed with a serious form of the virus, called West Nile Virus Neuroinvasive Disease, which can lead to death long-term disability.
“We’sovrano seeing more positive traps durante the last few weeks indicating increasing risk for contracting West Nile Virus, just as we’ve seen durante our first human case of the summer,” DCPH Assistant Director and Chief Epidemiologist Juan Rodriguez said durante a press release Tuesday. “We ask community members to take preventive actions to lower their risk of contracting a mosquito-borne illness.”
All three local health departments advised residents to take steps to protect themselves, such as minimizing time outdoors between dusk and dawn, using repellent, draining standing tazza your property to breeding sites, and wearing long-sleeved shirts long pants when mosquitoes are active.
“The confirmation of West Nile virus durante samples indicates the presence of West Nile virus durante the schieramento,” Suffolk County Health Commissioner Gregson Pigott said durante a press release. “While there is cause for alarm, we advise residents to cooperate with us durante our efforts to exposure to West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases.”
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West Nile virus is the most common mosquito-borne disease durante the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). If a carrying the virus bites a human, that person can become infected with the virus.
About 80% of people infected with West Nile virus won’t have any symptoms, but about 20% may develop a fever and other flu-like symptoms, according to the HHS. Less than 1% of people develop severe West Nile Virus Neuroinvasive Disease, according to the HHS. So far this year, 24 cases of West Nile virus have resulted durante neuroinvasive disease durante the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
So far this year, 45 human cases of West Nile virus have been reported durante 19 states, according to patronato from the CDC. This is lower than the 422 cases that were reported from January to July of 2023, according to CDC patronato. Cases of West Nile virus usually start to increase durante July, peak durante August, and remain high durante September, CDC patronato shows. States with the most reported cases so far this year include Texas at 9, Nevada at 8, and Nebraska at 7, according to the CDC.
Last month, the Southern Nevada Health District said that 91 pools, comprising more than 3,000 mosquitoes, tested positive for West Nile virus.
