The Shelby County health officials had confirmed the first case of West Nile virus in the area. Another case of the virus was also found in Lake County in Illinois.
The health officials have announced on Thursday that the first case of West Nile Virus in Shelby County for 2016 has been confirmed, as The Commercial Appeal reported. Elizabeth Hart, the spokeswoman of the Health Department said that the first victim of the West Nile Virus is a man, 67 years old. Hart expressed that she could not provide further information regarding the man's condition.
In 2001, the first ever case of West Nile Virus was documented in the area of Memphis. In 2015, there was only one incidence of West Nile Virus in Shelby County compared to 10 identified cases in 2014.
In the other news, the Lake County in Illinois has also confirmed its first case of West Nile Virus in 2016 according to the Daily Herald. The victim is said to be residing in Ingleside, Illinois. The Lake County resident was confined in a hospital late August and in early September the patient was discharged.
In the midst of this impending outbreak, The Lake County Health Department continually urges its residents to implement precautions from against the bites of mosquitoes. This year, thus far two birds and 84 pools (batches) of mosquitoes in Lake County have been identified positive with the West Nile Virus.
In a statement from the Health Department's Interim Executive Director Mark Pfister, he said that this is a season of the year wherein we can identify cases of the West Nile Virus. Pfister added that though the weather temperature is getting colder, the mosquitoes will continually become active "until the first hard freeze".
Pfister expressed that they are urging citizens to remain active outdoors but to remember to apply mosquito repellant chemicals and take further precautions to prevent mosquito bites. Health officials are urging county residents to prevent mosquito exposures through draining and discarding stagnant water on their properties and by staying inside the home during dawn and dusk, a time when mosquitoes are very active.
The West Nile Virus could typically cause minor illnesses in healthy humans. However, it could prompt and trigger a lethal inflammation in the brain called encephalitis.
Here's a brief explanation on how West Nile virus affects human body: