DuPage woman first human case this year of West Nile in Illinois

A DuPage County woman has contracted West Nile virus - the first human case this year of the mosquito-borne disease in Illinois.

The woman, who is in her 40s and lives in Darien, fell ill in mid-August and is recovering, public health officials announced Wednesday.

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike urged people to take precautions against infected mosquitoes.

"In an effort to decrease our risk of contracting COVID-19 from indoor settings, many of us are spending more time outdoors while still socially distancing," Ezike said in a statement. "As we enjoy the outdoors, we need to protect ourselves from other viruses carried by mosquitoes by wearing insect repellent and getting rid of standing water around our homes."

West Nile symptoms include fever, nausea, skin rash and head and body aches. Symptoms may last from a few days to a few weeks. Four out of five people infected with West Nile virus will not show any symptoms. Severe cases can lead to encephalitis, meningitis and death.

People older than 60 and those with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for serious illness from West Nile virus.

Last year, the state health department reported 28 human cases, including one person who died, although officials warned human cases are underreported. In 2019, 46 counties in Illinois showed positive results for the virus in mosquito batches, birds, horses or humans.

Health officials recommend following the three "R's" of defense:

• Reduce: Make sure doors and windows have tightfitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears. Eliminate, or refresh each week, all sources of standing water to reduce areas where mosquitoes can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires and other containers.

• Repel: When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt and apply insect repellent that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR 3535, according to label instructions. Check with a physician before using repellents on infants.

• Report: Report locations where you see water sitting stagnant for more than a week in roadside ditches, flooded yards, and similar locations. The local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito larvae.

The DuPage health department monitors virus activity by collecting and testing mosquitoes in traps throughout the county.

For the week ending Sept. 5, DuPage reported 17 of 32 tests of mosquito pools were positive, or 53%.

The county health department also has a Personal Protection Index, a kind of warning system for West Nile activity updated Wednesdays on a scale of zero to three. The current level is two, meaning there are "high numbers of infected mosquitoes in most areas" and at least one confirmed human case.