Protecting against West Nile Virus begins now, says UDOH

With the July 24 weekend approaching, public health officials across Utah issued an advisory Monday reminding residents to protect themselves against mosquito bites given that there were 21 cases of West Nile Virus last year in Utah, including two deaths.
Hannah Rettler, Epidemiologist with the State Department of Health, said the first recommendation is to wear long sleeves and pants.
 “Ideally, having something that’s covering your skin and we recommend using insect repellent with between 20 and 30 percent DEET,” Rettler explained. “And we don’t recommend that for children younger than two months of age. (Have) some form of protection on your skin.”
Rettler said it is best to avoid being out during the dusk to dawn hours which are mosquitoes’ peak biting times and to eliminate standing water where mosquitoes lay eggs.
She said mosquito season starts now.
“So, around July. And we do typically see cases kind of going in, like I said, August and September are the peak months. We continue surveillance through about October-November when it’s really tapering off and we’re closing up on the season.”
Those with questions may call the state epidemiology line at (80) 538-6191.
Rettler said a majority of people infected by this virus (70-80 percent) won’t notice any symptoms while some people my experience flu-like symptoms or worse. The most serious cases can lead to hospitalizations, disability or death.
Every Wednesday the UDOH website will be updated with available detection information.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.