- The CDC has warned Americans to be extra vigilant against mosquito bites as West Nile virus cases surge in the United States.
- To prevent infection, the CDC advises using EPA-registered insect repellent, installing screens on windows and doors, wearing long, loose-fitting clothing, and avoiding outdoor activities between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active. You should also get rid of standing water, where mosquitoes often breed.
- “Even an overturned bottle cap can hold enough water for mosquitoes to breed,” said Melissa Kretschmer, a county health department official. “It’s important that we remove these breeding sources that can form after rain or watering plants.”
- Scientists say many people — perhaps tens of thousands each year — are infected with West Nile but don’t know it because they have no symptoms, or only mild ones such as headaches, body aches, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhea and rashes.
- In severe cases, damage to the central nervous system causes potentially deadly inflammation of the brain or spinal cord. Adults older than 60 and people with underlying medical conditions or weakened immune systems face the highest risk of such complications.
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