CHICAGO (WAND) — The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is encouraging Illinoisans to "Fight the Bite" as National Mosquito Control Awareness Week approaches.
According to the agency, positive batches of West Nile virus (WNV) have been reported in four counties around the state. IDPH supports mosquito control efforts throughout the state by providing funding to local health departments for surveillance and control activities. This includes purchasing and applying larvicide, working with local municipal governments and local news media for WNV prevention and education, and investigating mosquito production sites and nuisance mosquito complaints. Local health departments collect mosquitoes for West Nile virus testing and also collect sick or dead birds for West Nile virus testing.
No human cases have been reported in Illinois this year so far but there were 34 human casees (which are generally under-reported) and eight deaths attributed to the disease in 2022. A total of ten batches of mosquitos that tested positive for West Nile virus have been reported this year in Cook, LaSalle, Morgan and St. Clair counties.
“Diseases such as West Nile virus pose a serious health threat, especially to our seniors or individuals who have weakened immune systems,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “We have already identified ten mosquito batches that are positive for West Nile virus, and this underscores why it is important for Illinois residents to protect themselves this summer. Please ‘fight the bite’ by wearing insect repellent while outdoors and eliminating standing water around your homes where mosquitos can easily breed.”
West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of a Culex species mosquito, commonly called a house mosquito, that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. Common symptoms include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches. Symptoms may last from a few days to a few weeks. Most people infected with West Nile virus will not show any symptoms; however, in rare cases it can lead to severe illness including meningitis or encephalitis, or even death. People older than 60 and individuals with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for severe illness from West Nile virus.
IDPH encourages the public to Fight the Bite by practicing the three “R’s” – reduce, repel, and report:
- REDUCE - make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut.
- Eliminate, or refresh each week, all sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires, and any other containers.
- REPEL - when outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a light-colored, long-sleeved shirt, and apply an EPA-registered insect repellent that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, IR 3535, para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone according to label instructions. Consult a physician before using repellents on infants.
- REPORT – report locations where you see water sitting stagnant for more than a week such as roadside ditches, flooded yards, and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes. The local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito larvae.
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