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Southern Nevada has first human case of West Nile virus in 2019

The Southern Nevada Health District on Friday reported its first human case of West Nile Virus to hit the area in 2019.

There were no reported cases of the mosquito-borne disease in 2018, the district said.

The woman who contracted West Nile was over 50 and had the more serious neuroinvasive form of the virus, according to the health district. She has since recovered.

“West Nile virus is a preventable illness, and it is important to remind everyone to take steps to prevent mosquito bites, especially as we start to spend more time outside,” according to a statement from Dr. Joe Iser, chief health officer of the district.

The virus is spread through the bites of infected mosquitoes, which acquire it by feeding on infected birds. It’s not spread from person to person.

Mild symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back, according to the health district. In some cases, the virus can cause severe neurological illness and death.

The health district’s mosquito-surveillance program regularly tests mosquito pools for West Nile, though none of the mosquito pools recently analyzed in Clark County tested positive, the health district said.

“It’s important to remember that mosquito-borne disease can be in our community even though our mosquito surveillance program has not identified any West Nile virus-positive mosquito pools,” Iser said in the statement.

So far this year the county has set 174 mosquito traps and sent 496 mosquitoes to the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory, which tests for diseases like West Nile, St. Louise Encephalitis and Zika.

To prevent mosquito bites and eliminate mosquito breeding sources, the health district recommended:

— Using insect repellents registered with the Environmental Protection Agency that contain DEET, picaridin, IR 3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), or 2-Undecanone.

— Wearing pants and long-sleeved shirts to reduce mosquito exposure when outdoors.

— Eliminating areas of standing water around your home, including non-circulating ponds, “green” swimming pools and accumulated sprinkler runoff, which support mosquito breeding.

Contact Jessica Terrones at jterrones@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256. Follow @JessATerrones on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Max Michor contributed to this report.

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