Year's First West Nile Virus Case In PA Reported In Pittsburgh Area

BALDWIN, PA — A borough resident has become the first person in Pennsylvania to contract the West Nile Virus this year.

Allegheny County Health Department officials said Tuesday the unidentified person had frequent exposure to the mosquito-carried ailment and had to be hospitalized after experiencing fever and weakness.

The health department, which last week sprayed portions of the borough with an insecticide to reduce the virus risk, has set up additional mosquito traps.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 70 and 80 percent of people who become infected with West Nile virus do not develop symptoms and are not impacted. Approximately 20 percent who become infected will develop a fever with other symptoms
such as headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea or rash.

Most people with symptoms can recover on their own, but the virus can cause severe symptoms of
neurological illness caused by inflammation of the brain or spinal cord.

The health department advises people to protect themselves from mosquitoes by removing
standing water in yards, making sure that open windows and doors have screens and using insect repellent on exposed skin - especially at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.

Click here to submit complaints regarding properties with stagnant water.