West Nile virus is most likely to strike in August and September as mosquitoes are coming into bloom.
Although no one knows why, Washington is one of the few states that has largely escaped the disease, with just three cases reported last year. No cases have been reported in the state so far this year.
To keep it that way, health officials say people should begin taking steps now to avoid getting the disease.
“West Nile virus is largely an issue for the youngest and oldest” who are most venerable to the disease, said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer for the Snohomish Health District.
Even though people in their 50s are most typically affected by the virus, it has infected babies as young as 3 months and adults in their 90s.
“There’s no reason there should be a human case of West Nile virus,” Goldbaum said. “We can prevent it. Clearly, the message has got to be to avoid mosquito bites.”
So far this year, there have been 185 reported cases in the United States, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California has been particularly hard hit with 42 people becoming ill from the disease and two people dying from it.
Goldbaum said he’s concerned that the public may have become complacent about taking steps to avoid the disease. These steps are relatively simple, and include using insect repellant, avoiding the outdoors during the evening hours when hungry mosquitoes want blood, and making sure to drain standing water, even in the smallest puddles, where mosquitoes breed.
“It’s human nature to believe that something isn’t going to happen to you until it has happened to you,” Goldbaum said.
The Snohomish Health District is expected to receive about 1,000 free bottles of insect repellant in the next few weeks to give to its patients as part of a national West Nile virus prevention campaign.
Most people who are bitten by infected mosquitoes don’t become ill. But a small number of people who get the virus can become seriously ill, with problems such as coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis.
To help drive home the message that seniors are particularly vulnerable to the disease, health officials from Snohomish and King counties spoke to residents at a retirement community in Bothell on Wednesday.
“This may be a bad year,” said Sharon Hopkins, a veterinarian for Public Health – Seattle and King County. “Ninety percent of cases are in the months of August and September.
From now until the end of mosquito season, “people should take precautions,” she said.
Sample bottles of insect repellant were handed out to seniors in the audience.
Frances Wallace, 81, who enjoys walking and gardening, said she got the messages from Wednesday’s meeting – before going outside she would “cover up” with long-sleeved clothing and put on insect repellant.
Edna Schmit, 97, said she didn’t know that West Nile virus “could be so deadly, especially for older people.”
Looking over her bottle of insect repellant, Schmit said, “it’s better to have a defense.”
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
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