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June 21, 2005
 Mosquito Season Approahes
Editors Note: As mosquito season approaches, concerns are again raised about local residents contacting the West Nile Virus. According to the US Department of Interior, last year, Lake County had four human cases, more than any other county in the state. The Centers for Disease Control reports that in 2004, there were 2,470 cases of West Nile Virus, resulting in 88 deaths. Several Methodist Hospitals’ physicians are knowledgeable on this topic .We would like to offer the following information, and provide physicians to be interviewed if you need a source on this vital issue. Please contact Jennifer Kharchaf at 886-4475 for additional information.
Healthcare professionals are finding that the West Nile Virus is more severe and lasts longer than experts initially thought. According to a study by the Illinois Department of Health, which interviewed 98 people who had the virus, while there no signs of paralysis or any indication that the infection spread and had caused encephalitis or meningitis, on the average, it took patients 60 days to get back to normal, not the handful of days previously assumed. Almost all said they felt fatigued, and half were tired for 30 days or longer. Nearly one-third were hospitalized for at least a day; the longest hospitalization was 56 days.
Since West Nile virus was first isolated in 1937, it has been known to cause infection and fevers in humans in Africa, West Asia, and the Middle East. Human and animal infections were not documented in the Western Hemisphere until the 1999 outbreak in the New York City metropolitan area. Since then, the disease has spread across the United States. West Nile Virus is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds that have high levels of the virus in their blood. Infected mosquitoes can then transmit West Nile Virus when they feed on humans or other animals.
Most West Nile Virus infected humans have no symptoms. A small proportion develops mild symptoms that include fever, headache, body aches, skin rash and swollen lymph glands. Less than 1 percent of infected people develop more severe illness that includes meningitis (inflammation of one of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord) or encephalitis. The symptoms of these illnesses can include headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, and paralysis. Of the few people that develop encephalitis, a small proportion die but, overall, this is estimated to occur in less than 1 out of 1,000 infections.
There is no specific treatment for West Nile Virus infection or vaccine to prevent it. However, the healthcare professionals at Methodist Hospitals recommend individuals reduce their contact with mosquitoes by taking the following actions:
- Where clothing that covers the skin, such as long sleeve shirts and pants
- Apply effective insect repellent to clothing and exposed skin
- Curb outside activity during the hours that mosquitoes are feeding, mostly between dawn and dusk
- Screens should be applied to doors and windows and regularly maintained to keep mosquitoes from entering the home
- Drain standing water from around your home
- Report dead birds to local authorities
- Change the water in pet dishes and replace the water in bird baths weekly
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