A mosquito collection from Minooka has tested positive for West Nile Virus – the first detection of the virus in Grundy County this year, according to a news release from the Grundy County Health Department.
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The man, who was not identified by Orange county health officials, experienced symptoms during the third week of July and has completely recovered. Symptoms of West Nile virus in humans may include fever, headache, tiredness, muscle aches, confusion, stiff neck, nausea, and sometimes a rash.
The County Health Department’s Kaitlin Snider says traps have turned up almost three dozen mosquitoes infected with the virus, but no people here yet.
There have been almost a dozen cases of West Nile in humans in the state this year, but none so far in Tulsa County.
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station announced this week the virus has been found in Guilford, New Haven and Stamford mosquitoes.
The 2015 pattern of mosquito development largely mirrors last year’s patten, Zazra said: There was more rain, and so more floodwater mosquitoes developing than the mosquitoes that carry the virus. Thirty traps are set weekly across the city from June until late fall to assess the risk levels for West Nile. Less than one percent of people infected become seriously ill. The incubation period for WNV (the period between being bitten by an infected mosquito and showing the first symptoms) varies from 3-15 days. Adults 50 years or older and those with underlying conditions or weaker immune systems, however, are at greater risk. “If they’re not working right they could hold standing water”.
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“It might be in a child’s toy box, or a bird bath, look at your gutters”, Wise said. Other travel-related mosquito-borne diseases include dengue fever and malaria. The Health Department has also been treating mosquito breeding areas on a complaint basis. “If you need to be outdoors during those hours, please be sure to use repellent and follow our recommended guidelines in order to avoid bites and possible infection”.
