Farmers Weekly Review

JOLIET, Ill. – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced the first human case of West Nile Virus (WNV) in Will County. The affected individual is a resident in their 70s who began to feel symptoms in July. The Will County Health Department’s Environmental Health Division has also reported that mosquito batches in 10 different Will County communities have tested positive for WNV this summer.

IDPH reported a total of five human cases of WNV have now been detected throughout the state. In addition to the case in Will County, three were reported in Cook County while Tazwell County also reported one positive case. In 2023, there were 119 human cases of WNV throughout the state.

“Summer in Illinois means mosquitos, and these mosquitos increase our risk of contracting vector-borne illnesses like West Nile Virus,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “We encourage all Illinois residents to ‘Fight the Bite’ and protect themselves and their loves ones from insect bites that can cause potentially serious illnesses.”

So far in 2024, there have been 1,318 WNV-positive mosquito batches and 25 positive birds from 53 counties throughout the state. In Will County, mosquitoes trapped in Joliet, Homer Glen, Shorewood, Lockport, Manhattan, New Lenox, Bolingbrook, Mokena, Frankfort and Plainfield have tested positive for WNV this summer. Additionally, the first dead bird to test positive for WNV was collected in Crest Hill.

WNV typically causes mild, flu-like symptoms. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most people [8 out of 10] infected with West Nile virus do not develop any symptoms. About 1 in 5 people who are infected develop a fever with other symptoms such as headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea, or rash. Most people who develop symptoms from WNV recover completely, but fatigue and weakness can last for weeks or months.

However, according to the CDC, about 1 in 150 people who are infected develop a severe illness that affects the central nervous system such as inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) or inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord [meningitis). Severe illness can occur in people of any age, however people over 60 years of age are at greater risk for severe illness if they are infected. People with certain medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, and people who have received organ transplants, are also at greater risk.

Because there is no vaccine available to prevent West Nile virus, it is important to avoid mosquito bites.

IDPH encourages the public to Fight the Bite by practicing the three “R’s” – reduce, repel, and report:

• REDUCE– make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut. Eliminate, or refresh each week, all sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires, and any other containers.

• REPEL– when outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a light-colored, long-sleeved shirt, and apply an EPA-registered insect repellent that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR 3535 according to label instructions. Consult a physician before using repellents on infants.

• REPORT– report locations where you see water sitting stagnant for more than a week such as roadside ditches, flooded yards, and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes. The local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito larvae.

For more information on WNV and what can be done to prevent getting bitten by mosquitoes, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s West Nile virus page at https://www.cdc.gov/westnile/ or at the Illinois Department of Public Health’s West Nile Virus page at https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/diseases-and-conditions/west-nile-virus.html .