How To Protect Yourself From West Nile Virus

Health officials say most people are infected with West Nile Virus during the summer season and according to the CDC, West Nile is most commonly spread by mosquitos.

In Oklahoma, there has been one death from the virus this year.

Assistant Director for the State Department of Health's Infectious Disease Prevention and Response Service Mike Mannell said symptoms of the disease are usually mild, but there are several ways to protect yourself.

"90% of all cases of West Nile virus are asymptomatic, so those individuals may not even know that they're currently infected with West Nile," Mannell said.

He said common symptoms are chills, headache, fever, and muscle aches.

"For those that do experience symptoms, the large majority of those are also fairly mild. We would expect flu-like symptoms," Mannell said.

Less commonly, he said, West Nile can have a neuroinvasive presentation, which can leave a person hospitalized and eventually lead to death.

He said that they usually see West Nile season last from the months of May through October.

"We have seen a relatively late start to the season this year, so we just have started to see human cases picking up in July," Mannell said. "We do expect to see cases continuing to increase throughout the summer months."

As far as prevention, Mannell said they focus on the four Ds: Dawn, Dusk, Deet, and Drain.

Dawn and dusk refer to the time mosquitos are most active.

"Those are when you should be taking the most precautions to protect yourself," Mannell said. "If possible, you want to wear long sleeves, light-colored clothing, even pants."

Deet is an active ingredient in most insect repellents, and lastly, drain means to identify areas of opportunity where mosquitos might lay eggs.

"Mosquitoes might lay eggs in standing water. This can seem really innocuous. You may not even think about it, but things like bird baths, pet bowls, toys out in the yard," Mannell said.