**Photo by Mathurin NAPOLY / matnapo on Unsplash
The Knox County Health Department (KCHD) has confirmed the first positive bird sample for West Nile Virus in Knox County for 2024. A deceased bird turned into KCHD tested positive for West Nile Virus (WNV) on August 6, 2024. The Knox County Health Department will continue surveillance and testing mosquito pools from across the county and conduct mosquito abatement with methods such as larviciding to help control mosquito populations across Knox County.
Monitoring for West Nile Virus in Illinois includes laboratory tests for mosquito batches and dead birds and testing humans with symptoms consistent with West Nile Virus. People who observe a sick or dying crow, blue jay, robin, hawk, owl, or other perching bird should contact the health department to determine if the bird is eligible for testing and will be picked up.
West Nile Virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of a Culex mosquito, commonly called a house mosquito, which has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. Common symptoms include fever, nausea, headache, and muscle aches. Symptoms may last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. However, four out of five people who become infected with WNV will not display any symptoms. In rare cases, severe illness including meningitis or encephalitis, or even death, may occur. Individuals aged 50 years and older, or who have a weakened immune systems are at higher risk for severe illness from West Nile Virus.
The best way to prevent West Nile disease or any other mosquito-borne illness is to practice the three R’s – reduce, repel, and report.
Reduce – make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut. Eliminate, or refresh each week, all sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires, and any other containers.
Repel – when outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt. You should also apply insect repellent that is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and contains DEET, picaridin, or IR3434. Some oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products can also provide longer-lasting protection. Apply repellent according to the label instructions, and wash treated skin with soap and water when you go inside. Don’t apply repellent to skin that’s under clothing, cuts, wounds, or irritated skin.
Report – report locations where you see water sitting stagnant for more than a week, such as roadside ditches, flooded yards, and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes. The local health department may be able to apply larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito larvae.
For more information about West Nile Virus visit the Knox County Health Department’s website at: https://www.knoxcountyhealth.org/public_health/environmental_health/mosquito_and_vector_diseases.php or to the Illinois Department of Public Health’s website at: https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/diseases-and-conditions/west-nile-virus.
If you would like to report a dead bird from the list on the KCHD website, please call the Knox County Health Department at 309-344-2224. Only birds that appear to have died from natural causes and are not decayed should be reported.
***Courtesy of the Knox County Health Department***
