LAS VEGAS – The Southern Nevada Health District is reporting its first human case of West Nile virus in Clark County.
The patient, a 75-year-old woman, has been diagnosed with the more serious neuroinvasive form of the illness and is hospitalized. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that West Nile virus infections and illness rates are on record pace this year with more than 2,600 cases and 118 deaths reported through Sept. 11.
| FYI: For information about prevention tips, visit the health district’s West Nile virus pages here. |
The health district reminds the community to take precautions to prevent against West Nile virus.
The Southern Nevada Health District is reported its first West Nile positive mosquitoes in the 89107 zip code in August. The health district’s vector control program continues to monitor and test mosquitoes throughout the Las Vegas Valley.
The illness can be prevented by using insect repellants and eliminating sources of standing water which support mosquito breeding.
West Nile virus is spread through the bite of infected mosquitoes, which acquire the virus by feeding on infected birds. The illness is not spread person to person.
Many people with the virus will have no symptoms or very mild clinical symptoms of illness. Mild symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach, and back. In some cases the virus can cause severe illness and even death.
In 2011, Nevada reported 16 cases, 11 of which were in Clark County. There were no human cases of West Nile virus were reported in Clark County in 2010.
