The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

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September 20, 2012

County dodges West Nile’s bite thus far

The Daily Southerner MIRANDA BAINES

TARBORO — The unusually hot summer has meant an extra buggy season for Edgecombe County.

One of those pesky insects, the mosquito, is the carrier of a serious health risk: West Nile Virus.

An update on the West Nile Virus was an agenda item on Tuesday evening’s Edgecombe County Board of Health meeting.

“It’s more common between the spring and fall,” said Leslie Arnold, communicable disease supervisor for the Edgecombe County Health Department.

No cases of West Nile have been reported in Edgecombe County this year, but the State of North Carolina has reported five cases and two deaths. The cases were reported in Cabarrus, Forsyth, Mecklenburg, Scotland and Wayne counties.

Those numbers are an increase from the state’s two reported neuroinvasive cases of West Nile in 2011 and no reported cases in 2010. North Carolina is one of 48 states nationwide reporting cases this year.

The state’s West Nile deaths this year occurred in an 82-year-old Wayne County resident and a 77-year-old Mecklenburg County resident.

“Individuals greater than 50 years of age are at increased risk for more severe illness,” Arnold said. She said people with compromised immune systems and health problems have a greater risk of becoming seriously ill from West Nile Virus.

“Eighty percent have no signs and symptoms after being bitten,” said Arnold.

Twenty percent of people infected with West Nile will develop mild symptoms, such as fever, nausea, headache and body aches, while only one in 150 people infected will develop serious illness, according to a West Nile fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Arnold shared ways to limit exposure to mosquitoes.

“Limit time outside at night,” she said. “Stay covered. Wear long sleeves, long pants, socks and shoes.”

She also advised using insect repellant and eliminating standing water from the area around your home because that is a good place for mosquitoes to lay their eggs. Along with mosquitoes, birds can be a carrier of West Nile.

“If you find a dead bird, do not touch it with your bare hands,” she said.

Signs and symptoms of West Nile generally appear between three and 15 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito, according to the CDC. Not everyone bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus exhibits symptoms, but those who do can expect them to last anywhere from a few days to several weeks.

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