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 West Nile encephalitis is an infection of the brain caused by WNV
which is transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes. During warm weather
months, the Logan County Department of Public Health (LCDPH) reminds
everyone to take precautions to eliminate breeding areas around your
home and to avoid mosquito bites. Precautions to prevent mosquitoes
include:
• Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are most active, especially
between dusk and dawn. Use prevention methods whenever mosquitoes
are present.
• When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved
shirt, and apply insect repellent that includes DEET, picaridin or
oil of lemon eucalyptus according to label instructions. Contact a
physician before using repellents on infants.
• Make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or
replace screens that might have tears or other openings. Try to keep
doors and windows shut, especially at night.
• Eliminate all sources of standing water that can support mosquito
breeding, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading
pools, old tires and other receptacles. Contact your local municipal
government or the Logan County Department of Public Health to report
areas of stagnant water in roadside ditches, flooded yards and
similar locations that may produce mosquitoes.
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If you are bitten by a mosquito, there is no reason to be tested for WNV since
illnesses related to mosquito bites are rare. However, if you develop symptoms
such as high fever, confusion, muscle weakness or severe headache, you should
see your doctor.
Through a grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the LCDPH will
monitor mosquito activity through October 15th. Monitoring includes the
collection and submittal of dead birds to the State of Illinois laboratory for
WNV testing. The Logan County Department of Public Health would appreciate your
help. If you observe a bird that has been dead less than 24 hours which appears
to have died of natural causes, please contact the health department to see if
it qualifies for testing.
In addition to collecting birds, the health department will be trapping and
testing pools of mosquitos for the WNV activity during much of the summer. If
you observe the traps, please do not touch them as this could interfere with the
monitoring process. If you have questions regarding prevention of
mosquito-related diseases or how to further prevent their breeding, you can
contact the Logan County Department of Public Health at 217-735-2317 or visit
their website at WWW.LCDPH.ORG for more information.
[Don Cavi, MS, LEHP
Public Health Administrator
Logan County Department of Public Health] |
