West Nile Confirmed 20 Miles From Rockford
Health Department officials have confirmed a mosquito pool in Ogle County has tested positive for West Nile Virus.
The mosquito pool was discovered in Monroe Center about 18 miles south of Rockford, according to mystateline.com. The virus can also be found in dead blue jays, crows, perching birds, and robins.
Symptoms of West Nile include fever, headache, muscle aches, and nausea but most people don't show any signs of infection. Mystateline.com shared these preventive steps for when you're outdoors,
Precautions include practicing the three “R’s” – reduce, repel, and report.
REDUCE - make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut. Eliminate, or refresh each week, all sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires, and any 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. Consult a physician before using repellents on infants.
REPORT – report locations where you see water sitting stagnant for more than a week such as roadside ditches, flooded yards, and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes. The local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito eggs.
[H/T Mystateline.com]