The Village of Arlington Heights announced Tuesday, July 30, 2024 that mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile Virus in and around Arlington Heights. Depending on weather conditions, the Northwest Mosquito Abatement District planned to conduct a night spray either tonight (7/30) or tomorrow night (7/31), in areas northeast of the Northwest Highway and Wilke Rd intersection) to help control the adult mosquito population. The defined area perimeter is Wilke Road, Palatine Road, Arlington Heights Road and Northwest Highway. The Village of Arlington Heights posted the alert on Facebook, but did not post the news on X.com (formerly Twitter), and did not post the news on the news section of the official Village of Arlington Heights website.
The Village of Arlington Heights and the Illinois Department of Public Health recommend steps to protect yourself from being bitten by wearing long sleeves and pants when outdoors at night and using mosquito/bug spray.
Residents are also encouraged to dump any sitting water on their property. Mosquitoes can lay 100 eggs, surviving without water for up to 8 months. Once those eggs come in contact with water, eggs can hatch in 48 hours. Even minimal water can serve as an excellent nursery for mosquito larvae. For more information visit Northwest Mosquito Abatement District (www.nwmadil.com<)/a>.
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The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) on Wednesday, July 17, 2024 announced the first human case of 2024 in Illinois of West Nile virus (WNV), the mosquito-borne illness. The onset of WNV symptoms was in mid-June. While commercial testing and clinical symptoms indicate a case of WNV, IDPH routinely sends the first positive case to CDC for confirmatory testing, which is pending. According to IDPH, the individual is in their 60’s and lives in suburban Cook County, which according to the United States Census Bureau includes a land are of 944.9 square miles. IDPH did not specify whether the area was north, northwest, west, southwest or south Cook County.
IDPH is tracking positive batches of birds and mosquitos on its West Nile virus dashboard and has reported 33 Illinois counties this year with positive results, an early warning of the presence of WNV in an area.
“Summer in Illinois means mosquitos, and these mosquitos increase our risk of contracting vector-borne illnesses like West Nile Virus,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “We encourage all Illinois residents to ‘Fight the Bite’ and protect themselves and their loves ones from insect bites that can cause potentially serious illnesses.”
There were 119 human cases of WNV reported in Illinois in 2023, up from 34 human cases in 2022. There were six human deaths attributed to West Nile virus in the state in 2023, compared to seven in 2022. The first 2023 human case in Illinois occurred in late June.
IDPH supports mosquito control efforts throughout the state by providing a total of $2.8 million in funding to the 97 local health departments in Illinois for vector 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.
Flaviviruses are insect-borne, positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses that include serious human pathogens, including yellow fever virus (YFV), dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV), West Nile virus (WNV), and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). Flaviviruses are vector-borne RNA viruses that can emerge unexpectedly in human populations and cause a spectrum of potentially severe diseases including hepatitis, vascular shock syndrome, encephalitis, acute flaccid paralysis, congenital abnormalities and fetal death.
The most prominent mosquito-borne diseases of all types are transmitted by three genera of mosquitoes – Aedes, Culex, and Anopheles.
West Nile virus (WNV) is often transmitted through the bite of a Culex mosquito (a genus of mosquitoes which are vectors of several diseases among humans birds and other animals). The mosquito usually picks up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. However, WNV can also also be transmitted by Aedes vexan or Aedes albopictus or the Asian tiger mosquito, noted by black and white striped legs. Anopholes mosquitoes are also capable of carrying Flavivirus or Othoflaviviruss — a genus that includes the West Nile virus, dengue virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus, Zika virus and several other viruses which may cause encephalitis.
Common symptoms of WNV include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches. Symptoms may last from a few days to a few weeks. Four out of five people infected with West Nile virus will not show any symptoms. However, in rare cases, severe illness can occur, including brain infections such as meningitis or encephalitis (or a combination of both) and near coma, paralysis, respiratory arrest, or even death. Severe illness can require supportive treatment in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and may require treatment with a mechanical respiratory ventilator. People older than 50 and immunocompromised individuals are at higher risk for severe illness from West Nile virus. If the severe form of the illness does not cause death, it may still cause permanent disability, especially due to harm to the brain. The disability can cause loss of independence, and the loss of ability to perform daily activities, such as driving.
There is no specific treatment for WNV nor is there a vaccine at present, therefore it is critically important that people minimize their risk of acquiring WNV.
SOURCES:
Pierson TC, Diamond MS. The continued threat of emerging flaviviruses. Nat Microbiol. 2020 Jun;5(6):796-812. doi: 10.1038/s41564-020-0714-0. Epub 2020 May 4. PMID: 32367055; PMCID: PMC7696730.
Illinois Department of Public Health – IDPH
Village of Arlington Heights
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