Number of West Nile cases continues to climb

Hillsborough County’s first human case of West Nile virus has prompted health officials to issue a mosquito-borne illness advisory.

Health officials reported Tuesday that a second Suffolk County man, also in his 60s, was infected with the virus, but survived.

“There has only been one confirmed cased of WN (West Nile) in our region”, said Derrick Neal, health administrator for the Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District, in an email. There are 877 cases in people that had been reported to the CDC and 43 already died not including the latest Michigan death. The course of action will be dictated by any further detection of the West Nile virus.

The virus had infected the man’s nervous system, said James Hartman, spokesman for the coroner’s office.

Apply Insect Repellent when Outdoors: Use a repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), oil of lemon eucalyptus [p-methane 3, 8-diol (PMD)] or IR3535 according to the instructions on the product label.

Use mosquito netting to protect children younger than 2 months old.

Eighty percent of people who contract the virus will not develop symptoms, and almost all of the rest develop a fever and mild flu-like symptoms, Stacey said. Those mosquitoes were from samples collected in the Elkhart and New Paris areas.

Empty and clean birdbaths and pets’ water bowls at least twice a week.

The district offers mosquitofish, which control the spread of mosquitoes, for fish ponds, horse troughs and other water-containing areas. “While all “4Ds” are important, stopping mosquitoes where they breed is especially crucial”, said Dr. Christopher Perkins, DCHHS medical director/health authority. In 2014, only 41 dead birds were found and six mosquito batches were tested positive for the deadly virus.