With the arrival of summer people are spending more time outdoors which has the Galveston County Health District urging people to take precautions to reduce the risk of contracting West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne illness. While there was only one probable case of West Nile virus in the county last year officials state precautions are still necessary as there is no way to predict the severity of this year’s season. The intensity of West Nile virus activity in Texas and the county fluctuates from year to year and depends on a variety of factors including the weather, the numbers of birds and mosquitoes that maintain and spread the virus and human behavior. The season can last up until the first hard freeze of the year.

To reduce exposure to West Nile virus:

• Use an approved insect repellent every time you go outside and follow the instructions on the label. Among the EPA-approved repellents are those that contain DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus.
• Regularly drain standing water, including water collecting in empty cans, tires, buckets, clogged rain gutters and saucers under potted plants. Mosquitoes that spread WNV breed in stagnant water.
• Wear long sleeves and pants at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
• Use air conditioning or make sure there are screens on all doors and windows to keep mosquitoes from entering the home.

Symptoms of the milder form of illness, West Nile fever, can include headache, fever, muscle and joint aches, nausea and fatigue. People with West Nile fever typically recover on their own, although symptoms may last for several weeks. Symptoms of the more serious form, West Nile neuroinvasive disease, can include those of West Nile fever plus neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis. Up to 80 percent of people infected with the virus will have no symptoms.

There are no medications to treat or vaccines to prevent West Nile virus infection. People over 50 years old and those with other health issues are at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill or dying when they become infected with the virus. If people have symptoms and suspect West Nile virus infection, they should contact their healthcare provider.

There have been no confirmed human cases of West Nile virus in Galveston County so far this year. For more information the public is encouraged to visit the CDC web site at: www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/ or call Galveston County Health District Epidemiology Services at (409) 938- 2322.