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Protect Yourself Against West
Nile Virus This Summer
 

 
Daily Bread
The LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9
Warm weather brings those ever-present mosquitoes

Ah, summer! Warm weather, baseball games, backyard gatherings and … mosquitoes, those ever-present companions on balmy summer nights. Warm weather also brings public concern about West Nile virus.

In rare cases, the mosquito-borne virus can cause serious neurological illness, but in the vast majority of cases people who are infected suffer no symptoms whatsoever, said Dr. Michael Threlkeld, M.D., an infectious diseases specialist and chairman of infection control at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis. “It’s much more common than people realize,” Dr. Threlkeld said.

Patients often ask Dr. Threlkeld about West Nile virus and there are many misconceptions about it, he said. “It’s far from being the scourge that people think it is,” Dr. Threlkeld said.

Only 20 percent of those infected experience any symptoms. For people who do have symptoms, they are usually mild – fever, body aches, fatigue and skin rash. Only about 1 in 150 infected individuals will develop a severe illness requiring hospitalization. Elderly people are the most at risk for developing serious complications such encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain; meningitis, an inflammation of the membrane around the brain and the spinal cord; and meningoencephalitis, an inflammation of the brain and the membrane surrounding it. However, severe disease can occur at any age.

Even though the chances of severe complications are slim, it is important to protect yourself against infection. Wear mosquito repellent when you are outdoors and remove possible breeding grounds from your property.

To discourage mosquito breeding, the Shelby County Health Department encourages residents to:

  • Clean rain gutters and downspouts
  • Repair failed septic systems
  • Make sure all your windows and doors have screens and are in good repair
  • Repair leaky outside faucets
  • Discard old tires or store inside where rain water can not collect inside of tires
  • Empty flower pots (including the "drip plates" underneath them), tin cans, buckets, children's toys - any container that might collect water especially after rainfall
  • Store wheelbarrows, canoes and boats upside down
  • Empty, clean and refill birdbaths and small wading pools weekly
  • Secure swimming pool covers tightly and remove any standing water after rainfall
  • Empty water being held in knot holes of trees
  • Stock ornamental ponds with fish (Gambusia) that eat mosquito larvae (Gambusia fish are available FREE from the local county health department)

Taking these simple steps will help protect you from mosquito-borne illness this summer.

Published: June 29, 2006
Source: Dr. Michael Threlkeld, M.D., chairman of infection control at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis


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