The Lake County Health Department notified the Village of Deer Park that a dead bird recently collected in the Village tested positive for West Nile Virus. In addition, 50 West Nile Virus positive mosquito samples have been collected in the County.
To help reduce the mosquito population and the risk of West Nile, the Village will be conducting an adult mosquito control application Friday evening, September 25, 2015, weather conditions permitting.
The Health Department recommends that residents continue to protect themselves against mosquito bites and prevent contracting WNV.
WNV is transmitted to people by infected mosquitoes. The best way to prevent WNV is to avoid mosquito bites:
• Use insect repellent when you go outdoors.
• Avoid the outdoors from dusk to dawn, when the mosquitoes that transmit WNV are most active.
• If outdoors, wear long sleeves and pants from dusk to dawn.
• Empty standing water from items outside your home such as flowerpots, buckets and kiddie pools.
Approximately one in five people who are infected with WNV will develop symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea, or rash. Less than 1 percent will develop a serious neurologic illness such as encephalitis or meningitis (inflammation of the brain or surrounding tissues).
WNV activity generally decreases in the fall once cooler temperatures arrive and especially after the first frost of the season.