No human cases of the virus have been reported this year in Marion County, according to the health department.
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Marion County didn’t report its first human case of West Nile in 2015 until September.
The Zika Virus Task Force was announced by First Selectman Peter Tesei and will be headed by the town’s Director of Health Caroline Baisley. Symptoms include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches. Since surveillance began early this year, seven cases – four women and three men – of Zika virus have been confirmed in the almost 200 Iowans who have been tested and all of the cases involved travel to areas outside the United States where Zika transmission is occurring. People older than 50 and immunocompromised individuals are at higher risk for severe illness from West Nile virus.
Last year, the first human case of West Nile was reported on August 19, according to the IDPH. The first mosquito batch to test positive for West Nile virus was collected on May 23, 2016, in Glenview.
The last death in Marion County from West Nile was reported in 2012.
Past year there were 77 human cases of West Nile.
The health department said traps are placed throughout the county to monitor mosquitoes. Study of the disease has also shown it can be sexually transmitted from men to their partners if they have it through a bite from an infected mosquito. Try to keep doors and windows shut.
DEFEND yourself by using insect repellent.
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“What can you wear that protects you more?” The local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito eggs.
