Wednesday, February 27, 2002

Sixth human West Nile case found in Georgia

The Georgia Public Health Laboratory has detected one additional case of the mosquito-transmitted West Nile virus in a 68-year-old man from Wayne County. He began experiencing symptoms in December and is now recovering from his illness.

This brings the total number of Georgians reported with West Nile virus to six. The first Georgia case was a 71-year-old Fulton County woman who died of her illness in August. The remaining four were detected in a 68-year-old man from Pierce County, a 73-year-old man from Richmond County, a 61-year-old man from Macon County, and a 70-year-old man from Wayne County. All of these have recovered or are recovering from their illnesses.

Mosquito activity can occur year-round in parts of Georgia where temperatures are mild all year long. With warmer weather approaching, mosquitoes will become more active throughout the state. This means that residents will have an increased risk of becoming infected with a mosquito-transmitted disease.

Public health officials strongly urge everyone to reduce mosquito populations around the home and to protect themselves against bites when mosquitoes are active.

Most people who are exposed to mosquito-transmitted viruses such as West Nile virus will not become ill or may experience only mild symptoms. A very small number of people, usually the elderly or people with compromised immune systems, will develop severe illness such as encephalitis and require hospitalization.

"The most effective action we can take against West Nile virus or any other disease transmitted by mosquito bites is to reduce standing water where mosquitoes breed," said Kathleen E. Toomey, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Georgia Department of Human resources' Division of Public Health. "Also, make sure that you and your children use mosquito repellent on exposed skin and spray it on clothing when you go outdoors in mosquito season."

Toomey recommends using repellent containing DEET, according to package instructions. However, repellents with DEET should not be used on infants, and children should use repellents that contain less than 10 percent DEET.

Many types of infections can cause encephalitis in Georgia, including other mosquito-carried diseases such as Eastern Equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, and La Crosse encephalitis. Public health workers in Georgia are continuing to conduct surveillance in 2002 for mosquito-carried viruses, including West Nile virus, in birds, horses, mosquitoes and humans throughout the state. This surveillance has been successful in identifying persons and animals with West Nile virus and other mosquito-transmitted diseases.

For more information about mosquito control, call your county health department. For more information about West Nile virus, see http://health.state.ga.us/epi/vbd.shtml.