Logan County Department of Public Health encourages everyone to "fight the bite"

[June 01, 2022] 

With warm weather upon us, mosquitoes will become active thus increasing the threat of mosquito-related diseases such as West Nile Virus (WNV). West Nile encephalitis is an infection of the brain caused by WNV which is transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes. During the warm weather months, the Logan County Department of Public Health (LCDPH) reminds everyone to take precautions to avoid mosquitoes and to help reduce their numbers.

The precautions include the following:

• 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 LCDPH to report areas of stagnant water in roadside ditches, flooded yards and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes.

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, LCDPH started monitoring for mosquito activity on May 16th and will continue through October 15th. Monitoring includes the collection and submittal of dead birds to the Illinois State Laboratory for West Nile Virus testing. LCDPH would appreciate your help. If you observe a bird that has been dead less than 24 hours and 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 these traps in residential and rural areas, please do not touch the traps as it could affect accurate testing.

If you have questions or would like more information regarding prevention of mosquito-related diseases, you can visit the Logan County Department of Public Health website at WWW.LCDPH.ORG or you can contact their office at 217-735-2317.

[Don Cavi, MS, LEHP
Public Health Administrator
Logan County Department of Public Health]