Culex mosquitoes carry the West Nile virus
(Mirror Daily, United States) Although autumn is here, mosquitoes don’t seem to have any plan to go away. Their season appears to continue, as populations in McLennan County are still to be found in the area. What’s more, recent analyses from researchers confirmed that the nagging insects carry the West Nile virus.
Even more concerning news comes from public health authorities of the district. They have recently announced that the West Nile virus made its first victim in 2016. The patient was a man and he died on Friday, September 2.
The McLennan County resident, whose identity remains unknown, is the first victim of the virus since the deaths in 2012. The virus has symptoms such as headaches, rashes, fever, and vomiting, which lead to an unfortunate outcome for the patient. Doctors say that the virus affects the brain, which can result in meningitis or encephalitis.
Authorities and health specialists suggest that people should stay away from mosquitoes and their bites, although their season should be coming to its end. Officials have been concerned about the Zika virus lately, while other diseases, such as the West Nile condition, took them by surprise. This is why they advise the population not to let their guard down.
Culex mosquitoes are the kind of mosquitoes which carry the West Nile virus. They are the most prone to the virus, which it transmitted to them by birds. The insects further transmit it to humans through their bites, infecting humans’ blood.
Apart from the lethal West Nile virus case, there are other four people infected in McLennan County. However, no Zika virus infections were reported to the health district this year.
On the other hand, in Lake County, Illinois, researchers have recently analyzed mosquito individuals. The testings showed that the insects were infected with the West Nile virus. Specialists consider themselves lucky for not having human cases of West Nile virus in their district so far. However, they are aware that such news can drop any time this month.
Authorities took actions such as spraying pesticides against the virus carrier mosquitoes. They advise people to wear sleeves when they go out. They also should get rid of items in their backyard which can retain warm water, which would attract the insects.
Image courtesy of: Wikipedia