The first case of West Nile virus has been reported in Illinois for this year.
The first case of West Nile virus has been reported in Illinois for this year.
A Will County man in his 60s who became sick in June has been confirmed as the first case of West Nile virus in lllinois this year, according to the state's Department of Public Health (IDHP).
“This is typically the time of year we start to see human cases of West Nile virus in Illinois,” IDPH Director Nirav Shah said in the news release. “Although the flooding in northeastern Illinois may be producing a large number of floodwater mosquitoes, those mosquitoes do not carry West Nile virus. However, the hot, dry conditions we’ve been seeing around the rest of Illinois, which leave small, stagnant pockets of standing water, create ideal breeding sites for the type of mosquito that does carry West Nile virus.”
People most susceptible to West Nile virus are those older than 50 and those with compromised immune systems.
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D.
| http://www.dph.illinois.gov/about-ipdh
To reduce the chances of being infected, the IDPH recommends keeping windows and doors closed and getting rid of stagnant water, wearing long sleeves and pants with socks and shoes when outside, along with using an insect repellent that “contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR 3535,” the news release said.
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