Community Corner

Is West Nile Coming to Fairfax County?

Patch offers prevention tips, and the map below shows the number of West Nile cases last summer.

Fairfax County reported eight cases of West Nile virus last year. Of those cases, one person died.

To give residents a sense of West Nile’s prevalence in Fairfax County, Patch has pulled together county-level 2012 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Cases and Incidence Rates

You can see how counties across the state compare by using the interactive map above, which shows the number of West Nile cases in humans and the infection rate. 

Find out what's happening in Fairfax Stationwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

West Nile – named after the district in Uganda where the virus was first discovered – spread to New York City in 1999, and has been migrating across the United States ever since.  Last year was the deadliest year so far for West Nile in the United States, with more than 5,600 "confirmed and probable" cases, and at least 286 related deaths. 

Local predictions for 2013 are very difficult to make. But nationally, "the number of humans with West Nile virus disease continues to rise in the United States," said Dr. Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC's Division of Vector-Borne Diseases

In Virginia, 29 residents were diagnosed with West Nile in 2012, three of whom died.

Find out what's happening in Fairfax Stationwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

No Vaccine, Little Reporting, But a High Cost

While there is a West Nile vaccine for horses, there isn't one for humans, according to Purdue University Professor Richard Kuhn. Furthering the problem is the fact that cases of West Nile often go unreported. 

“It's always underreported because if someone has a mild case they might not report it; they might think it’s a cold,” said Judith M. Lavelle, Health Communications Specialist at the CDC. 

There is currently no comprehensive treatment for someone infected by West Nile, which makes severe diagnoses all the more frightening.

From Birds to Bugs to Humans

West Nile has also been detected in bird populations, notably in Central Michigan. “Certain types of birds serve as a reservoir for West Nile Virus,” Kuhn said. An infected bird can pass the virus along to an uninfected mosquito when bitten. That’s why Wisconsin has launched a hotline for people to report dead birds in the area. 

Many states have begun testing mosquitoes for West Nile, with Virginia, PennsylvaniaIllinois and California all reporting positive detection in certain counties.

Fairfax County has been keeping an eye on disease-spreading insects for the past few years in an effort to bolster prevention.

The annual initiative involves monitoring mosquitoes and ticks, surveillance on any human cases in the county, and educating residents on effective prevention.

West Nile Virus season runs from May to October, according to officials. During the the 2012 mosquito monitoring period, county health experts trapped and tested more than 64,000 mosquitos in nearly 2,800 groups. Of those groups, 255 tested positive for West Nile Virus.

Positive cases weren't confined to one specific area - they spread from Mount Vernon all the way to Chantilly.

Prevention and Symptoms

The CDC recommends using an EPA-certified mosquito repellant if you’re going to be outdoors, and lists some additional prevention tips on their website, including:

  • When weather permits, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants outdoors.
  • Place mosquito netting over infant carriers when you are outdoors.
  • At least once or twice a week, empty water from flower pots, pet food and water dishes, birdbaths, swimming pool covers, buckets, barrels, and cans.

With the 2012 mosquito season was the highest on record, health officials are cautioning people to take immediate action if you believe you’ve been infected. The CDC website lists varying degrees of symptoms, including: 

  • Serious symptoms in a few people. About one in 150 people infected with WNV will develop severe illness, including high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, and paralysis.
  • Milder symptoms in some people. Up to 20 percent of the people who become infected have symptoms such as fever, headache, and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back.
  • No symptoms in most people. Approximately 80 percent of people  infected with WNV will not show any symptoms at all.


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