NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Local county officials have found a single-stranded RNA virus known to cause West Nile fever has been detected in the county.
West Nile Virus was identified through laboratory testing, the cause of a recent case of encephalitis in a local resident, a county release noted.
“This individual has not recently traveled outside of New Hanover County and therefore it is likely they contracted the virus locally,” public health director David Howard said in the release.
A mosquito-borne disease, West Nile is uncommon in the areas but can be present in animals and transferred to humans via bug bites. In rare instances it is spread through exposure in labs, blood transfusion and organ transplants, or from breast feeding, during pregnancy or delivery from mother to child.
It cannot be spread through coughing, sneezing or touching, by touching animals, dead or alive, or eating infected animals.
There is not a vaccine or medications available to treat West Nile in patients. Though the director indicated the singular case should not be alarming, as the risk is still low within the community.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80 percent of individuals that contract West Nile won’t have symptoms. For the other 20 percent, mild symptoms — which can last several weeks — may occur. They include: fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach or back.
Severe symptoms, which also may last several weeks, include: high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. If experiencing severe symptoms, it’s important to seek medical treatment, as neurological effects could become permanent.
According to the CDC, approximately 1 in 150 West Nile Virus cases result in severe symptoms.
“We want everyone to be diligent in preventing mosquito breeding and avoiding mosquito bites, which lowers the risk for everyone,” Howard noted in the release.
The New Hanover County Health and Human Services Department recommends individuals make sure to empty outdoor vessels of standing water. Even a minute amount can become a breeding ground for mosquitos and in a matter of days.
Anyone using insect repellant while outdoors should be sure its EPA-approved. Other prevention measures including wearing long sleeves and pants and limiting outdoor activity, especially at dawn and dusk; mosquitoes are most active during these times.
Public health has a vector control team that consistently monitors mosquito activity; it also controls the mosquito population “through active trapping, testing and treating known breeding environments with larvicide to kill larvae before they hatch.”
Vector control sprays EPA-registered pesticide in urban environments.
To report mosquito activity or concerns, click here.
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