West Nile activity confirmed in Utica

The La Salle County Health Department received confirmation that mosquitoes from Utica tested positive for the West Nile virus.

The mosquitoes were collected July 12, and environmental health staff conducted the confirmatory test on the mosquitoes at the health department. To date, West Nile virus activity has been documented from mosquitoes June 2 in Marseilles and June 27 in La Salle.

West Nile is transmitted through the bite of a house mosquito, which has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. Common symptoms include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches. Symptoms may last from a few days to a few weeks.

Four out of five people with the West Nile virus will not show any symptoms. In rare cases, severe illness including meningitis and encephalitis or even death can occur. People older than 60 and individuals with weakened immune systems are at a higher risk for severe illness from West Nile virus.

Monitoring for West Nile virus includes laboratory tests for mosquito batches, dead crows, blue jays and robins, as well as testing humans with West Nile virus-like symptoms. People who observe a sick or dying crow, blue jay or robin should contact the health department, which will determine if the bird will be picked up for testing.

Precautions include practicing the three R’s - reduce, repel and report.

Residents should make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens and repair screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut. Eliminate, or refresh each week, all sources of standing water where mosquitos can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, pet bowls, clogged rain gutters, wading pools, old tires and any other containers.

Residents should wear shoes and socks, long pants and light-colored, long-sleeved shirts and apply an Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellant that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR 3535 when outdoors. Consult a physician before using repellants on infants.

Residents also should report locations where there’s sitting stagnant water for more than a week, such as roadside ditches, flooded yards, old tires, stagnant pools and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes. The local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito larvae.

Go to www.lasallecountyil.gov for more information on the West Nile virus in La Salle County.