St. Louis Encephalitis case reported in Kern

Jul. 7—The first human case of St. Louis encephalitis virus has been reported in Kern County, and a health alert has been issued, the Kern Public Health Services Department said Friday.

"This first confirmation of a mosquito-borne illness in a Kern County resident should serve as a serious reminder that we all need to protect ourselves against mosquitoes," said Brynn Carrigan, director of Kern County's public health department.

SLEV is a mosquito-borne disease that can produce symptoms similar to West Nile virus: fever, headache, tiredness, body aches, nausea, vomiting and swollen lymph glands. But most people who are infected do not produce symptoms, according to a public health news release.

Severe illness can occur in people of any age; however, people over the age of 60 are at greater risk once infected. That said, officials stressed that humans are a "dead-end" host, meaning that we are unable to infect other humans through casual contact.

Officials attribute the case to heavy rains this past winter, which have resulted in denser mosquito populations countywide and statewide. They will continue to monitor and test mosquitoes for SLE virus.

In the interim, officials are asking the public to take precautions and mitigate their exposure to mosquito bites.

"There are layers of protection that we encourage everyone to utilize such as using repellent when outdoors and stopping mosquitoes at the source by removing standing water around your property," Carrigan said.

For more information, visit kernpublichealth.com/west-nile-virus/.

This story is ongoing and will be updated periodically.