DALLAS COUNTY, Texas — Dallas County health officials reported the state’s first human case of the West Nile virus this year
According to health officials, West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of infected mosquitoes and most people exposed to the virus don’t get sick. But about 20% of people develop symptoms like headache, fever, muscle and joint aches, nausea and fatigue.
The Texas Department of State Health Services is urges people to declare WAR on mosquitoes to protect themselves and their families from West Nile and other diseases spread by mosquitoes:
- Wear long sleeves and pants. Create a barrier to mosquito bites by covering up.
- Apply insect repellent. Use EPA-registered repellent such as those containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol or 2-undecanone.
- Remove standing water. Emptying water that accumulates in toys, tires, trash cans, buckets, clogged rain gutters and plant pots will deny mosquitoes a place to lay their eggs and reproduce.
DSHS says there were 122 cases of West Nile disease in Texas last year and 24 deaths.
