GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KOLN) – The Central District Health Department reported Wednesday the first confirmed human case of West Nile Virus (WNV) infection in the district.
The risk for getting WNV continues as mosquito pools in the Central District – Hall, Hamilton and Merrick Counties – now test positive for WNV.
People become infected with WNV when mosquitoes feed on infected birds and then bite people. Because WNV can be transmitted through blood and organ transplantation, people who were recently diagnosed with WNV should not donate blood or bone marrow for 120 days following infection.
There are no vaccines to prevent or medicines to treat WNV in people, but most infected people do not feel sick. About one in five people who are infected develop a fever and other symptoms. About one out of 150 infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, illness.
Reduce your risk of WNV by preventing mosquito bites:
- When you are outdoors, use insect repellent containing an EPA-registered active ingredient like DEET.
- Use insect repellent and wear long sleeves and pants or consider staying indoors at dusk and dawn.
- Make sure you have good screens on your windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out.
- Get rid of mosquito breeding sites by emptying standing water from flowerpots, buckets and barrels.
- Change the water in pet dishes and replace the water in bird baths weekly. Drill holes in tire swings so water drains out. Keep children’s wading pools empty and on their sides when they aren’t being used.
Human cases of West Nile have also been reported this season in the East Central District Health Department in either Boone, Colfax, Nance or Platte County. The West Central District Health Department, which includes the counties of Lincoln, Hooker, Thomas, McPherson, Logan and Arthur, has also reported human cases.
For more information, contact the Central District Health Department at (308) 385-5175.
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