United States: It is the National Mosquito Control Awareness Week and the officials of health in Illinois declared that mosquitoes have hatched earlier in this year because of mild winter and spring, and that the simulated disease or the West Nile is caused by them.
More about the news
At present, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reports that 13 counties around the state have reported positive mosquito samples. The counties included are Champaign, Cook, Douglas, Fulton, Kane, Hancock, LaSalle, Morgan, Washington, Whiteside, Williamson, Winnebago, and Woodford.
The following monthly updates show that no human cases of West Nile virus have been recorded in Illinois up to the year 2024. In the previous year, according to the IDPH, the total cases for humans were 119 and total deaths 6; for the year 2022, there were 34 human cases and seven deaths recorded, as wgntv.com reported.
It is assumed that a county has the virus if any bird, a batch of mosquitoes, a horse, or a human being from that county has tested for the virus.
Again, the IDPH confirmed 11 positive mosquito pools and ten positive birds in the 13 counties mentioned above. Laboratories across the state will analyze mosquito breeding, death of birds, and probing of horses and humans for West Nile-like ailments.
What more have the officials stated?
If people come across a sick or dead crow, blue jay, robin, or any perching bird, they are equally advised to report to the health department for testing.
The health department has created awareness that people can reduce their contact with mosquitoes by staying indoors during the periods when mosquitoes are most frequently present, removing sources of stagnant water, and ensuring that doors and windows are closed during evenings.
If you are outside during the time when mosquitoes are active, you should wear long clothes or use insect repellent with DEET, as wgntv.com reported.
More about the disease
The contagious disease starts off with the bite of a mosquito, and gets the virus is transmitted via the blood of an infected entity.
West Nile virus, the CDC shows that this is not true in most cases, as many individuals infected with the virus do not show symptoms.
It causes high spiking fever in anyone out of five persons and is often accompanied by joint pains, headache, muscle aches, vomiting and sometimes diarrhea, and sometimes rashes. Severe conditions like encephalitis or meningitis might be developed by the infected individual.
Severe forms of the West Nile disease can be fatal. Some of the susceptibility factors include being a senior citizen, a person with a compromised immune system, and persons aged 60 years and above.