West Nile Virus has been detected in Monroe County mosquitos by the Indiana Department of Health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus may cause mild symptoms within three to 15 days of exposure for around 1 in 5 infected. These include fever, headaches, neck stiffness, muscle weakness, nausea, sore joints or confusion.
More rarely, it can cause meningitis and encephalitis: inflammation in the brain and spinal cord which can be life-threatening. Older individuals are at greater risk.
Senior medical entomologist at the Indiana Department of Health Lee Green says Monroe County residents will need to be vigilant until the end of summer weather.
“Mosquito season does not end and therefore risk does not end until our first hard freeze of the season," he said. "In Indiana, that's usually late September, October.”
There is currently no treatment or vaccine for the virus. Luckily, Green said West Nile is a very preventable disease. He recommends eliminating sources of standing water where mosquitos can breed.
“Tires, buckets, planters, toys, bird baths; all that stuff can breed mosquitoes.”
Covering skin, applying insect repellent and avoiding the outdoors around dusk and dawn can reduce risk of mosquito bites.
West Nile was also detected in Monroe County last year in early September.
The state's West Nile dashboard is available here.
