West Nile Virus identified in two Ottawa County residents
OTTAWA COUNTY — Two people in Ottawa County have tested positive for West Nile Virus, the Ottawa County Department of Public Health announced Thursday.
The department said both people have been hospitalized with the infection. As of Thursday, neither has died. Neither person has a travel history, OCDPH said, and both likely became ill after being bitten by an infected mosquito in West Michigan.
Two cases of West Nile in the county is the highest number since 2018, when there were also two cases. The county saw zero cases of the virus from 2019-2022, according to OCDPH’s annual report on communicable disease. There have been six total human cases of West Nile in Michigan this year.
Most people infected by West Nile don’t show symptoms, but the virus can lead to serious, sometimes fatal, illness. There are no vaccines to prevent or medications to treat West Nile, OCDPH said.
Symptoms of a mild West Nile infection include fever, headache, body aches, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhea and rash. More severe illness, which can result in encephalitis or meningitis, may include high fever, neck stiffness, muscle weakness, vision loss, disorientation, tremors, numbness, paralysis and coma.
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The best way to prevent West Nile is to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites. Preventative measures include applying insect repellent containing DEET as the active ingredient, or other EPA-approve products, to exposed skin or clothing; wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants outdoors; maintaining window and door screens to keep mosquitoes outside; and emptying standing water in things like buckets, pools, old tires and other items where mosquitoes lay eggs.
Mosquitoes remain active until the first hard freeze of the year. For more information on West Nile Virus and other viruses transmitted by mosquitoes, visit michigan.gov/emergingdiseases.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Nile Virus identified in two Ottawa County residents
