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Be on the lookout for mosquitoes
By JENNIFER BRANCH COGAN
While not a major threat to people in Texas, citizens are urged to be aware of the possibility of contracting the West Nile virus, especially taking into account the recent loss of beloved community member Roy Metcalf. Metcalf passed away Sept. 4 after battling the disease and its complications for over a year.
Joseph McCormick, M.D. serves as the dean of The University of Texas School of Public Health’s Brownsville Regional Campus. He took the time to talk with The Sun regarding the intricacies of West Nile.
According to McCormick, some of the earliest instances of West Nile in the United States occurred in 1998, and researchers have been able to track the strain back to Israel.
Identifying symptoms of the disease can prove to be tricky.
“(A patient) can have nothing, they can be completely asymptomatic. They can have a mild headache and maybe some muscle aches, very mild fever, or you may have something more severe; anything from somnolence to severe muscle aches to encephalitis,” he said. “We’re not exactly sure how the virus gets into the brain, but it can.”
In extremely severe cases, patients can suffer from seizures, paralysis and the inability to speak.
Transmitted through Culex mosquitoes, West Nile is typically transferred from a bird bitten by a mosquito to a human, who is bitten by the same mosquito. McCormick explained that the virus can also be transmitted from person to person through mosquito bites.
Because of this, the best way to prevent the disease, said McCormick, is that people use mosquito repellent when outdoors.
“(After a storm) people tend to notice an influx of mosquitoes, and that’s a good thing to pay attention to because that could raise the transmission rate of West Nile and even things like Dengue Fever,” he said.
After an individual is bitten and the disease is transferred, the only thing physicians can do is treat patients symptomatically.
“There is no vaccine,” said McCormick.
Another thing to keep an eye out for is a number of dead birds around your property.
“Birds don’t always die from this, but they certainly can. If you see a couple of dead birds in the area and it doesn’t appear that they’ve been hit with a car, it may be something to take note of.”
Residents can call local health officials if they believe the deaths of birds around their property can be attributed to West Nile.
Most susceptible to the disease seem to be the elderly, McCormick said.
“They tend to have a poorer immune system, but if there are other underlying illnesses, like diabetes, Alzheimer’s or even arthritis, it may raise there rise for a more severe case of West Nile,” he said.
Despite the severity of some cases, McCormick said that mortality rate is very low and the number of instances of West Nile are few and far between.
“Death is unusual, but not unheard of when the person involved is elderly,” he said.
Joseph McCormick, M.D. serves as the dean of The University of Texas School of Public Health’s Brownsville Regional Campus. He took the time to talk with The Sun regarding the intricacies of West Nile.
According to McCormick, some of the earliest instances of West Nile in the United States occurred in 1998, and researchers have been able to track the strain back to Israel.
Identifying symptoms of the disease can prove to be tricky.
“(A patient) can have nothing, they can be completely asymptomatic. They can have a mild headache and maybe some muscle aches, very mild fever, or you may have something more severe; anything from somnolence to severe muscle aches to encephalitis,” he said. “We’re not exactly sure how the virus gets into the brain, but it can.”
In extremely severe cases, patients can suffer from seizures, paralysis and the inability to speak.
Transmitted through Culex mosquitoes, West Nile is typically transferred from a bird bitten by a mosquito to a human, who is bitten by the same mosquito. McCormick explained that the virus can also be transmitted from person to person through mosquito bites.
Because of this, the best way to prevent the disease, said McCormick, is that people use mosquito repellent when outdoors.
“(After a storm) people tend to notice an influx of mosquitoes, and that’s a good thing to pay attention to because that could raise the transmission rate of West Nile and even things like Dengue Fever,” he said.
After an individual is bitten and the disease is transferred, the only thing physicians can do is treat patients symptomatically.
“There is no vaccine,” said McCormick.
Another thing to keep an eye out for is a number of dead birds around your property.
“Birds don’t always die from this, but they certainly can. If you see a couple of dead birds in the area and it doesn’t appear that they’ve been hit with a car, it may be something to take note of.”
Residents can call local health officials if they believe the deaths of birds around their property can be attributed to West Nile.
Most susceptible to the disease seem to be the elderly, McCormick said.
“They tend to have a poorer immune system, but if there are other underlying illnesses, like diabetes, Alzheimer’s or even arthritis, it may raise there rise for a more severe case of West Nile,” he said.
Despite the severity of some cases, McCormick said that mortality rate is very low and the number of instances of West Nile are few and far between.
“Death is unusual, but not unheard of when the person involved is elderly,” he said.
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