Health officials have found a mosquito carrying the West Nile virus in Cincinnati for the first time this year.
The Cincinnati Health Department confirms it found the virus in a mosquito collected in Madisonville. The health department does ongoing monitoring of mosquito populations for West Nile and other diseases on a rotating basis across Cincinnati neighborhoods.
“West Nile virus can spread to humans through mosquito bites, and we’ve just confirmed it’s here in the local mosquito population,” Cincinnati Health Department Commissioner Grant Mussman, MD, said in a news release. “Fortunately, the steps you can take to prevent infection are straightforward and effective, like dumping standing water and wearing repellant, especially at dawn and dusk."
Many people who get West Nile won't have symptoms. But the virus can cause headache, joint pain, and nausea in about 1 out of 5 people who contract it. In about 1% of cases, the virus also can cause potentially fatal inflammation of the brain.
Last year, the health department found West Nile in 24 mosquito sample groups. That's much higher than the average of six per year over the last decade.
There hasn't been a confirmed human case of West Nile in Cincinnati since 2015.
What about Northern Kentucky?
Northern Kentucky Health, the health department for four counties in Northern Kentucky, hasn't detected West Nile in any of the mosquitos it has tested so far this year.
How can I stay safe?
Cincinnati's health department suggests the following to lower the risk of contracting West Nile:
- Eliminate unnecessary standing water in your yard, since that's where mosquitos lay eggs
- Refresh the water in bird baths and pet bowls at least once a week
- Keep swimming pools circulating and chlorinated
- Empty wading pools when not in use and turn them upside down
- Keep gutters clean
- Use a mosquito repellant approved by the EPA on exposed parts of your skin when outside
- Use mosquito repelling briquettes like Mosquito Dunks that contain BTi in any standing water you can't remove
- Make sure screens on windows, doors, and vents are intact
Hamilton County Public Health says it hasn't detected any additional presence of West Nile in the 218 mosquitos it sent to the Ohio Department of Health for testing so far this year.
ODH hasn't confirmed any cases of West Nile virus in humans this year. Last year, there were 14 reported cases statewide.
More information about West Nile is available via the Centers for Disease Control and the Ohio Department of Health. You can contact the Cincinnati Health Department’s Technical Environmental Services Unit at 513-352-2922 with questions about West Nile.
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