West Nile Outbreak Could Be Worst in U.S. History

A 55-year-old Mableton woman and a 75-year-old Acworth man were the first two cases of West Nile virus confirmed this summer in the county by Cobb & Douglas Public Health.

Both were treated and released in late July.

Nationwide, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is calling the 2012 outbreak of West Nile cases possibly the largest in U.S. history. The mosquito-borne disease has been around only 13 years, and there have been 1,118 cases and 41 deaths from the virus reported to the CDC, the New York Times says.

Mosquitoes breed in small collections of stagnant water, are common around people’s homes, and often bite people indoors. 

Many people infected with West Nile may not display symptoms, but others will experience flu-like symptoms, like headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, swollen lymph glands and rashes.

Age plays a role in how the virus affects those infected, said Dr. Winkler Weinberg, chief of infectious diseases at Kaiser Permanente in Atlanta. People 40 and older are more susceptible to severe symptoms, he said.

"You're safe if you're younger, but your risk of death is higher for neuroinvasive West Nile if you're older," he explained.

Weinberg said people should not panic about West Nile because the odds of contracting it and dying are relatively small.

For those concerned about West Nile, "I'd tell them to look at their risks for cardiovascular disease," he said. "Address those first because your risk (of contracting West Nile) is extremely small, and there are innumerable risks that are more important to concern themselves with instead."

For example, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is a much more common disease in Georgia than West Nile, he explained.

However, there are ways to decrease one's chances of contracting West Nile.

Weinberg advises wearing long-sleeve shirts, long pants and loose-fitting clothing, as well as applying sunscreen and insect repellent containing DEET.

Another measure to prevent mosquitoes is to empty any containers of standing water near the home.

The CDPH advises people to "clean gutters and empty accumulated water in flower pots, old tires and recycling bins."

Dawn and dusk are the times when the risk of contracting West Nile are highest, Weinberg said, because it's when mosquitoes are most active.

For more information, visit Kaiser Permanente's West Nile Virus info page or the CDC’s website.

What do you do to combat mosquitoes? Tell us in the comments.

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