The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is reporting the first confirmed human case of the West Nile virus in Illinois this year.
A 70-year-old Chicago resident became ill in late July.
“Although the first human case of West Nile virus this year in Illinois has been reported a little later than we typically see, it is important to remember that there is an ongoing risk of disease from a mosquito bite,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “West Nile virus can cause serious illness in some people, so it’s important that you take precautions like wearing insect repellent and getting rid of stagnant water around your home”.
In 2018, the IDHP reported 176 human cases including 17 deaths.
In a statement, the IDHP said that human cases of the West Nile virus are underreported.
The West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of a Culex pipens mosquito, which has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird.
Common symptoms include fever, nausea, headache, and muscle aches. The IDPH said that symptoms can last a few days to a few weeks. However, four out of five people who get West Nile will not show symptoms.
There are several precautions to Fight The Bite, including practicing the three R’s: Reduce, Repel, and Report.
The IDPH recommends reducing the chances by making sure doors and windows have a tight fitting screen, and keep them shut. Repel mosquitoes while outdoors by wearing shoes, socks, long pants, long sleeves, and wear bug spray that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon or eucalyptus, or R-3535. And, also report locations with water sitting for more than a week such as roadside ditches, flooded yards, and locations that may attract mosquitoes.
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