Pinellas County has reported their first human case of West Nile virus illness in 2015.
A 32-year-old man has tested positive for the mosquito-borne illness.
Largo Patch, By Sherri Lonon (Patch Staff) , August 28, 2015 ?
The first case of West Nile virus in a human in Pinellas County since 2007 has been confirmed.
The Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County issued an advisory on the heels of positive confirmation of the virus in a 32-year-old man Friday. The agency issued warnings about the potential risks the virus posed back on Aug. 21 and earlier over the summer after sentinel chickens within the county began testing positive for the potentially fatal disease.
“As of Aug. 28, there have been 23 positive tests for West Nile Virus in sentinel chickens from Pinellas County Mosquito Control coops,” the health department wrote in an email to media. “As a result, the risk of transmission to humans in the county increased.”
So far in 2015, the state of Florida has had positive West Nile samples from six humans, eight mosquito pools and 76 sentinel chickens, the agency noted. Those reports have come in from 14 counties across the state.
Prior to Friday’s announcement, Pinellas County had not had a human case of West Nile virus since 2007, department spokeswoman Maggie Hall said.
Mara Burger, press secretary for the Florida Department of Health, told Patch last week the other confirmed human cases have occurred outside the Tampa Bay area. Two were reported in Walton County, two in Escambia and one in Volusia.
Pinellas County is already under a mosquito-borne illness advisory due to WNV activity in their sentinel chicken flocks.
Mosquito Borne Illness Alert Continues After West Nile Cases Confirmed
August 30, 2015
A mosquito-borne illness alert for Escambia County continues after at least two West Nile virus cases were conformed in the county.
The second case of West Nile was recently confirmed in an adult male. This makes the sixth human case in Florida in 2015.
Pinellas Issues West Nile Virus Advisory
So far this year 19 sentinel chickens have tested positive for the potentially fatal disease.
By Sherri Lonon (Patch Staff), August 21, 2015
With 19 sentinel chickens testing positive for West Nile virus in recent weeks, Pinellas County health officials are asking residents to take precautions to avoid bites. The health department issued an advisory Friday warning residents about the dangers of this mosquito-borne illness.
“This advisory is being issued due to 19 positive tests for West Nile Virus in sentinel chickens from Pinellas County Mosquito Control coops,” the department explained in an email. “As a result, the risk of transmission to humans in the county has increased.”
With that in mind, the health department is asking residents to take precautions to avoid bites.
Mara Burger, press secretary for the Florida Department of Health, told Patch there have been five confirmed cases of West Nile in Florida this year. Two were reported in Walton County, two in Escambia and one in Volusia. There have been no reported human cases in Pinellas or the Bay area so far.
“It is important for people to remember to drain standing water, cover their skin and wear insect repellent, as well as cover doors and windows with screens to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes,” Burger said.
West Nile virus produces no symptoms in about 70 to 80 percent of people infected, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some people, however, can develop such symptoms fever, rash, headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting and diarrhea. In less than 1 percent of those infected severe symptoms may develop. The infection may lead to encephalitis or meningitis, which is an inflammation of the brain or surrounding tissue, the CDC says. Of those who develop severe complications about 10 percent die.
Residents can do their part to control the mosquito population by eliminating ideal breeding locations from their yards. Mosquitoes can breed in as little as a quarter inch of standing water, the county noted. It is asking residents to heed these precautions:
- Empty water from old tires, flower pots, garbage can lids, recycling containers, boat tarps and buckets
- Eliminate standing water near plumbing drains, air conditioner drips, septic tanks or rain gutters
- Flush birdbaths and wading pools weekly
- Flush bromeliads twice weekly or treat with a biological larvicide
- Change the water in outdoor pet dishes daily
- Keep pools adequately chlorinated
- Stock ornamental ponds with mosquito-eating gambusia fish
- Cover rain barrels with fine mesh screening
- Repair rips or tears in door and window screens
Escambia County upgraded to mosquito-borne disease alert, August 18, 2015
Escambia County has upgraded their mosquito-borne disease advisory to an alert for their second human case of West Nile virus illness in 2015.
UF/IFAS Scientists: Keep Up Your Guard for West Nile Virus
Released: 10-Aug-2015 8:05 AM EDT
Source Newsroom: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
Newswise — GAINESVILLE, Fla. — While Florida has never experienced a serious West Nile virus epidemic, UF/IFAS scientists caution the public to remain vigilant about this dangerous mosquito-borne illness.
Meanwhile, UF/IFAS researchers continue to study ways to nip the virus in the bud and monitor its spread. Researchers at the UF/IFAS Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach track rainfall, groundwater levels, mosquito abundance, wild bird populations and virus transmission to animals including horses and sentinel chickens. Researchers use these data to track the virus transmission between mosquitoes and wild birds, noting when mosquito infection rates reach the levels that can infect humans.
West Nile virus, first detected in the U.S. in New York City in 1999, and in Florida in 2001, has been confirmed hundreds of times nationally, and it can be lethal. For example, 779 cases (with 28 deaths) were reported in California in 2004, most from three southern California counties. The next summer, 880 cases (with 19 deaths) were reported in counties across the state.
The environmental conditions that favor West Nile virus transmission in Florida include very dry winter and early spring months, followed by heavy rainfall and short periods of drought – usually 10 to 14 days — in the late spring and early to mid-summer months.
Low winter temperatures also help to predict epidemic risk, especially in south Florida, said Jonathan Day, a professor at the UF/IFAS lab in Vero Beach. Years when exceptionally cold periods were reported in south Florida, such as 1977 and 1989, were followed by mosquito-borne virus epidemics.
A mosquito known as Culex nigripalpus Theobald spreads West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis virus and eastern equine encephalitis virus in Florida. Environmental factors — especially rainfall — limit where and how often this mosquito lays its eggs and how often it takes blood from birds. Thus, to date, Florida has reported only small outbreaks of West Nile, according to a new paper by UF/IFAS scientists.
“However, historical epidemics of St. Louis encephalitis in Florida alert us to the eventual possibility of a widespread West Nile epidemic if and when the important environmental factors line up,” said Day, who co-authored the paper with Professor Walter Tabachnick and Associate Professor Chelsea Smartt, fellow UF/IFAS faculty members at the Vero Beach lab. Their paper was published online July 1 in the Journal of Medical Entomology.
Day urges government agencies responsible for arboviral surveillance in Florida – including mosquito control districts, local and state public health units and Florida universities – to continue to aggressively monitor the state for mosquito-borne viruses.
Surveillance efforts include monitoring sentinel chickens, mosquito abundance and age, wild bird abundance and reproductive success and environmental factors — especially temperature and rainfall — that influence mosquito and wild bird ecology, Day said.
Confusion sometimes surrounds the terms “outbreak” and “epidemic” when it comes to predicting arboviral transmission, he said. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an “epidemic” is defined as “the occurrence of more cases of disease than expected in a given area or among a specific group of people over a particular period of time.” An “outbreak” is characterized as sporadic individual cases or small clusters of disease cases.
It’s easier to predict widespread epidemics such as the 1990 St. Louis encephalitis epidemic in south Florida where there were more than 200 human cases reported, Day said.
“We have had outbreaks of West Nile Virus in Florida,” he said. “Individual cases or a cluster of 20 or 25 cases are not unusual in Florida, but are very difficult to predict. We stay clear of forecasting small outbreaks and sporadic individual West Nile human cases because trying to predict these are like trying to predict lightning strikes.”
By: Brad Buck, 352-294-3303, bradbuck@ufl.edu
Source: Jonathan Day, 772-778-7200, ext. 132, jfda@ufl.edu
Georgia Health Officials confirms First Case of West Nile Virus
Posted: Sat 2:00 PM, Aug 08, 2015
ATLANTA — Health officials in Georgia have confirmed the state’s first human case of West Nile virus of the season.
The Georgia Department of Public Health on Friday said the patient is an adult from the Atlanta area who has already recovered.
The agency says most people get the virus get it after being bitten by an infected mosquito. Health officials urged Georgians to take precautions against mosquito bites.
Ways to avoid bites include: limiting outdoor activity at dusk and dawn; reducing the amount of exposed skin; using insect repellent containing DEET; emptying containers of standing water; and making sure doors and windows fit tightly.
Symptoms usually develop three to 15 days after a bite by an infected mosquito and include headache, fever, neck discomfort, aches, swollen lymph nodes and a rash.
Escambia County, FL has issued a mosquito-borne disease advisory for their first human West Nile virus case of 2015.
Walton County has second human case
Walton County has upgraded their mosquito-borne disease advisory to an alert for their second human West Nile virus case of 2015.
Mosquito-Borne Illness Advisory Issued for Bay County
Updated: Fri 11:02 PM, Jul 31, 2015
BAY COUNTY– If you get bit by a mosquito, itchy bumps may be the least of your worries.
The Florida Department of Health in Bay County has issued a health advisory to highlight the importance for residents and visitors to protect themselves against mosquito-borne illnesses.
Two people have contracted West Nile Virus illness in Walton County.
The Florida Department of Health, Beach Mosquito Control and Bay County Mosquito Control are continuing to keep surveillance and are encouraging everyone to take precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitos that may cause West Nile Virus illness.
West Nile hits just north of Brevard
Jim Waymer, FLORIDA TODAY 5:28 p.m. EDT July 29, 2015
A Volusia County man has contracted the West Nile virus, health officials confirmed Wednesday.
Florida health officials issued a mosquito-borne illness advisory in Volusia, after a state lab confirmed the man had contracted the West Nile virus.
Health officials would not comment on the man’s age, but said he had been hospitalized and currently is under medical care.
He’s thought to have contracted the virus locally.
“He did not really spend any time outside of the county,” said Paul Rehme, epidemiologist for Volusia County Health Department. “We can’t pinpoint in the area of the county.”
West Nile virus, transmitted by mosquitoes, can cause encephalitis, a potentially fatal inflammation of the brain.
The health advisory is not technically in effect for Brevard, and Brevard County Health Department Director Heidar Heshmati said there have been no reported human cases on the Space Coast.
But health officials reminded that mosquitoes — and the birds they catch the virus from — know no borders.
”The mosquito is everywhere,” Heshmati said.
Most people can fend off the West Nile virus, but senior citizens and people with compromised immune systems, diabetes, heart disease or other health problems are at greater risk for more serious illness.
First Human Case of West Nile Virus In Walton County for 2015
Updated: Fri 3:32 PM, Jul 24, 2015
Walton County, FL [PRESS RELEASE FROM FLORIDA DEPT OF HEALTH]
The Florida Department of Health is urging Floridians and visitors to protect themselves against West Nile Virus. The Department of Health today confirmed the first case of West Nile virus illness in Florida for 2015 in an adult female resident of Walton County. West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne virus that causes mild to severe illness, and there have been 38 other states with confirmed cases in 2015.
“I encourage Floridians and visitors to take steps to prevent mosquito bites that can lead to illness,” said State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health Dr. John Armstrong. “Stay safe by draining any standing water near or in your home, making sure that screens are intact, and keeping your skin covered with clothing and mosquito repellent.”
Most people with West Nile virus infections, approximately 80 percent, have no symptoms. In those people who develop them, most experience a mild illness with conditions like headache, fever, pain and fatigue. These typically appear between two and 14 days after the bite of an infected mosquito.
People over the age of 50 and individuals with weakened immune systems, especially transplant recipients and HIV-infected individuals, seem to be at increased risk for severe disease. There is no specific treatment for West Nile virus, and most mild infections are typically overcome with little or no medical intervention within a matter of weeks. Those experiencing severe side effects should seek medical attention immediately.
The department continues to conduct statewide surveillance for mosquito-borne illnesses, including West Nile virus infections, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, Malaria and Dengue. Residents are encouraged to report dead birds to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website at www.myfwc.com/bird.
The department has put together broadcast-quality downloadable videos in both English and Spanish for use by the media on West Nile virus. You can find those at www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/west-nile-virus/index.html. There are also a number of educational materials, including a Frequently Asked Questions document and historical data on the illness. You’ll also find basic information about the importance of taking precautions to avoid mosquito-borne illness in a press release put out by the department earlier this summer at www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2015/06/061215-mosquito.html.
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The Florida Department of Health in Walton County (DOH-Walton) has issued a mosquito-borne illness advisory for Walton County according to Holly Holt, DOH-Walton Administrator. A human case of West Nile virus illness has been confirmed and there is a heightened concern that additional residents may become ill.
Walton County Mosquito Control, South Walton Mosquito Control and DOH-Walton continue surveillance and prevention efforts and encourage everyone to take basic precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes that may cause West Nile virus disease.
To protect yourself from mosquitoes, you should remember to “Drain and Cover”:
DRAIN standing water to stop mosquitoes from multiplying:
- Drain water from garbage cans, house gutters, buckets, pool covers, coolers, toys, flower pots or any other containers where sprinkler or rain water has collected.
- Discard old tires, drums, bottles, cans, pots and pans, broken appliances and other items that aren’t being used.
- Empty and clean birdbaths and pet’s water bowls at least once or twice a week.
- Protect boats and vehicles from rain with tarps that don’t accumulate water.
- Maintain swimming pools in good condition and appropriately chlorinated. Empty plastic swimming pools when not in use.
COVER skin with clothing or repellent:
- Clothing – Wear shoes, socks, and long pants and long-sleeves. This type of protection may be necessary for people who must work in areas where mosquitoes are present.
- Repellent – Apply mosquito repellent to bare skin and clothing.
o Always use repellents according to the label. Repellents with DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, and IR3535 are effective.
o Use mosquito netting to protect children younger than 2 months old.
Tips on Repellent Use
- Always read label directions carefully for the approved usage before you apply a repellent. Some
repellents are not suitable for children.
- Products with concentrations of up to 30 percent DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) are generally
recommended. Other U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved repellents contain picaridin,
oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR3535. These products are generally available at local pharmacies.
Look for active ingredients to be listed on the product label.
- Apply insect repellent to exposed skin, or onto clothing, but not under clothing.
- In protecting children, read label instructions to be sure the repellent is age-appropriate. According
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mosquito repellents containing oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under the age of three years. DEET is not recommended on children younger than two months old.
- Avoid applying repellents to the hands of children. Adults should apply repellent first to their own
hands and then transfer it to the child’s skin and clothing.
- If additional protection is necessary, apply a permethrin repellent directly to your clothing. Again, always follow the manufacturer’s directions.
COVER doors and windows with screens to keep mosquitoes out of your hours.
- Repair broken screening on windows, doors, porches and patios.
For more information on what repellent is right for you, consider using the Environmental Protection Agency’s search tool to help you choose skin-applied repellent products: http://cfpub.epa.gov/oppref/insect/#searchform.
The Department continues to conduct statewide surveillance for mosquito borne illnesses, including West Nile virus infections, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, Malaria and Dengue. Residents of Florida are encouraged to report dead birds to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission web site at http://www.myfwc.com/bird/. For more information, visit DOH’s website at http://www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/mosquito-borne-diseases/index.html or call Florida Department of Health in Walton County at (850) 892-8015.
The Department works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.
Follow us on Twitter at @HealthyFla and on Facebook. For more information about the Florida Department of Health please visit www.floridahealth.gov.