Two patients positive for West Nile virus in Dallas County so far this year
By OLIVIA LEACH
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DALLAS, Texas (KTVT) — Whether you’re boating, fishing or just spending time at the park this summer, it can be easy to forget about those pesky little mosquitos and the diseases they carry.
“People should be concerned about this because often times we ignore mosquito activity we ignore mosquito bites,” said Christian Grisales, the Dallas County Health and Human Services public information officer.
Dallas county officials want residents to be on alert and do everything they can to prevent mosquito bites after the county confirmed Friday that two people in the county have contracted West Nile virus from mosquito bites this summer.
“Now that we’re seeing a second case, human case that , it’s a little bit alarming because we’re seeing mosquito activity, more mosquito activity happening in Dallas county,” said Grisales.
Jakobie McGee has been fishing at White Rock Lake for 15 minutes but he already has a bite.
“I wasn’t thinking about mosquitos I should have put my OFF on,” said McGee.
Experts say the best way to protect yourself against West Nile virus this summer is to use insect repellent, especially one that contains deet to keep mosquitoes away.
Dr. Nikhil Bhayani an infection prevention and epidemiology physician advisor at Texas Health says most patients who test positive for West Nile Virus get better on their own but there are some symptoms of the virus you should watch out for.
“A lot of these people have fever, they’ll have headache, they will also have fatigue, malaise they’ll develop back pain,” said Dr. Bhayani.
In rare cases patients can have severe illness affecting the nervous system such as encephalitis or meningitis.
In addition to using mosquito repellant to prevent bites , you should limit your time outdoors from dusk to dawn. And make sure to drain all standing water around your home and business where mosquitos lay their eggs.
“People might think oh it’s so hot the waters going to be gone in a matter of a few hours but a lot of times that water does not evaporate it stays there,” said Grisales.
Dallas county has been spraying for West Nile virus in Lancaster and Cedar Hill this week after mosquitoes there tested positive for the virus.
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