Northeast Ohio health officials are advising people to avoid mosquito bites as two known people in the region have contracted West Nile virus in August.
Both Cuyahoga and Medina counties had cases of the virus, with Medina reporting a case on August 20 and Cuyahoga on August 13. As of August 21, there have been a total of six people diagnosed with West Nile virus across Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Health. That’s about on par with the average annual rate of infection in the state.
People should wear insect repellant, remove standing water during mosquito season and avoid going outside during dawn and dusk, which are peak times for mosquitoes, University Hospitals infectious disease expert Amy Edwards said.
Taking such precautions is part of what should be a different mindset for Ohioans, she told Ideastream Public Media.
“For people who grew up in Ohio, mosquitoes and ticks didn't used to carry disease in Ohio," she said. "We [didn’t] have tick and mosquito-borne illness, except now we do. If you look overall in the United States, the rate of mosquito-borne illness is going up."
Now is an especially dangerous time of the year, she said.
“It's always worse in the summer because that's when the mosquito population is at its highest," Edwards said. "Mosquitoes can't live in the cold. Below a certain degree, they can't function.”
While there is a risk from West Nile virus, only 25% of people will get sick enough to get body aches, fever, a skin rash and other mild symptoms, she said. More serious symptoms such as swelling of the brain are even rarer, Edwards said. Some 80% of people who contract West Nile do not get any symptoms at all, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People ages 65 and older, individuals with chronic medical conditions, like cancer or kidney disease and those with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk from West Nile, Edwards said.
